Kamen Rider World: Season 1
by chadlansing01
Summary: After the death of a Kamen Rider, there is a divide in the United Factions of Earth with both sides trying to determine who the killer is and why it occurred. This story is a reimagining of the Kamen Rider Franchise, which promises to bring the action, the mystery, and adventure. I do not own Kamen Rider, as that is the property of Toei.
1. Introduction

**Introduction**

Hello readers and fans of the Kamen Rider franchise. Today I bring you a story that I have been thinking about writing for 2 years now and I am excited to be bringing it to you all now. What I present to you is a whole new interpretation to the Kamen Rider lore, allow me to explain. The names of the Kamen Riders themselves, such as Kamen Rider Ichigo, Kuuga, Kabuto, Decade, etc. will remain the same but different people behind the armor with different origins. The powers of each of the respective riders will be the same as depicted in the various shows and other forms of media. The lore of this universe will be explained in the prologue of this story, but for now I am going to describe the setup of the story and how I will incorporate certain elements, such as the jingles for the different transformation devices. The story will revolve around two groups of Kamen Riders that are fighting each other due to a traumatic event occurring in the Kamen Rider family. I know this sounds like the rough plot of Marvel's Civil War Event, but I will be sure to take the "civil war" concept and make it unique. I also plan to make this story multiple seasons. As for the jingles of the transformation devices, they will be kept in and will be written phonetically and not translated, like what TV Nihon does sometimes when it translates a series.

I am now going to discuss the different Rider groups and how they are all incorporated together. As you will read in the upcoming prologue, all the known Kamen Riders belong to the central worldwide government known as The United Factions of Earth (UFE). An example of how the groups will be represented are the Advent Riders, which are the riders from the show Kamen Rider Ryuki. With this logic, the ZECT Riders are the ones from Kamen Rider Kabuto and so on and so forth. All the riders know each other and have interacted with each other at some point. To learn more, please read the prologue.

That is all I got to say for the time being, so I'll leave by saying that I hope you all like what I'm doing and if there are any suggestions please leave your comments.


	2. Prologue

**Prologue:**

Towards the end of World War II, when the United States of America dropped the first hydrogen bomb "Little Boy", it did not make it to the ground, but instead exploded in mid-air as if something else hit it. 3 days later, the U.S. tried again with "Fat Man", but the same result had occurred, only this time the object that hit the bomb landed back on the ground and dusted off its red gloves. That object, was Kamen Rider Nigo (#2) and the first object that intercepted "Little Boy" was Kamen Rider Ichigo (#1). In this timeline, a group of Nazis traveled to Japan in 1942 and established the evil organization known as SHOCKER and with that came the development of the first two Kamen Riders. However, due to the intense radiation the two Riders had to absorb to protect Japan, the brainwashing that SHOCKER had done to the two men was gone and they rebelled and removed the Nazi element by 1945, the end of WWII. By this point in time the United Nations was just forming and the world had seen the heroic deeds of the Kamen Riders. It was put to a vote that the development of such superhuman combatants should be provided to each country to even out the odds if there ever came another war as great as WWII. This project was known as Project Sentai, but sadly it could not get off the ground until one of the scientists that helped the two original Riders rebel came up with the suggestion of creating more Riders to protect the entire planet. Dr. Sakata was his name and he mentioned how, through doing research with the Nazis and SHOCKER, he uncovered the truth that there exists alternate dimensions and alien forces that could invade our world at any moment and that only the unified power of the Kamen Riders could stop them. At that point in time, December of 1945 to be exact, the entire world united and became the United Factions of Earth, aka the UFE. This was done easier than expected because the fought of an advanced alien race or civilization attacking and controlling your planet is a lot scarier than your neighbor trying to capture your country.

After years of researching and finding more energy sources to power the transformation devices of the Kamen Riders, it became apparent that there would have to be immense training for new recruits and these recruits would have to start young, usually around the age of 10 are children selected to join the Kamen Rider program at the main HQ. Only some can become unique Riders, while some become generic Riders (i.e. Riottroopers, Kurokage Troopers, Ride-Players etc.) The known dimensions that have been found that have allowed for cultivation of Rider power are: Helheim, Mirror World, Game World, Worm World, and the Underworld. The first 15 Riders (Ichigo-J) to exist were thought to be unbeatable and for a time were, as they fought off the monsters from those different realms. Eventually, though, fighting for over 60 years takes a toll on the body, even with the slowed aging process. With the various scientific exploration teams scouring the new dimensions and across the Earth, new powers were found, and with these new powers a new Kamen Rider Head Council was formed. The council members are Kuuga, Agito, Ryuki, Faiz, Blade, Hibiki, Kabuto, Den-o, Kiva, Decade, W, OOO, Fourze, Wizard, Gaim, Drive, Ghost, Ex-Aid, and the newcomer Build. It should be noted that Kiva belongs to race of beings from the Underworld called Fangires, a new race of vampires, and is only permitted to stay on the Main Rider Headquarters for a short period of time, due to voiced concerns of many of the residents. As of this point in time, there has been a death in the Kamen Rider Organization and it has led to a split in the Rider community. Will the Kamen Riders reunite as a peacekeeping force and protect the world, will they kill each other, or is there another threat pulling the strings?


	3. Episode 1

On a dark night in June there is a shady arrangement going on between two groups of individuals in a dark alley. The first group are all wearing black business suits and look neat and tidy, whereas the other group look like they just were let out of a not-so good public school, with their torn hoodies and ripped jeans. The leader of the businessmen approached a man with a navy-blue hoodie and said, "Does anyone else know we are here". "Nah man", said the man in the hoodie, "Did you bring the memory?" The businessman than pulled out a USB drive with the word "BEAST" written on it and pressed the button located by the port. The USB drive then said the word, " _ **BEAST**_ " aloud and the not-so nice dressed men looked frightened as they were worried that this secret meeting wouldn't be so secret anymore. "Quiet you fool. Do you want the Riders to hear us?" Then, shadows fall over the two groups of men and they look up to a nearby rooftop and see two young men looking over them: one is a rather short fellow with a muscular build while the other is much larger in both girth and height.

"Did Riders say Somebody?" said the larger man. "Aw come on buddy, you screwed up the easiest line in the book" said the short man. "Oh sorry. Did somebody say Riders?" said the larger man. "Now you just sound pathetic, what do you low-lives think?" the shorter man says as he points towards the two groups. The head businessman says, "Dammit, the Riders are here, kill them!" The men around the businessman pull out more USB drives with the word "MASQUERADE" written upon it. They each press the button, " _ **MASQUERADE**_ " sounds from the drive and they inject it into themselves turning them into Masquerade Dopants, which resemble men in suits with a full covering black mask with a white spine and rib cage upon it. The men in casual attire throw coins on the ground which produce mummy-like creatures called Waste Yummys. The leader of the group of men takes the USB drive, which will now be called a Gaia Memory, that he pressed before and stabs himself with it, turning himself into a creature with two blue legs, a face in the middle of his chest, a black claw on his right hand, a blue claw on his left hand, and his head has a blue headdress-like object covering where his eyes would be with spider-like mandibles for a mouth. That man is now known as a Beast Dopant. The two men on the rooftop look down at the newly formed monsters and smile. Out of nowhere, two mechanical grasshoppers, one green, one brown, leap from behind the monsters and into the hands of the men on the rooftop. The men press a button on their belts and slide the grasshoppers into their belts.

 _ **HENSHIN! CHANGE KICKHOPPER!  
HENSHIN! CHANGE PUNCHOPPER!**_

The two men have now transformed into Kamen Riders. The short man was now Kamen Rider KickHopper and his large friend was now Kamen Rider PunchHopper. They both leaped down and were preparing for the ensuing conflict. PunchHopper states "I'll go for the Dopants, you go for those Yummys". "Yes sir" KickHopper says sarcastically. The battle is not much trouble for the Riders at all, PunchHopper is claring through the Masquearde Dopants with ease as each punch he throws results in each Dopant being thrown 10 ft. from where they were last standing. The same can be said with KickHopper as each Yummy he kicks turns back into a pile of coins. It is not until the Beast Dopant makes his move do the Riders realize that this night won't be that easy. The Beast Dopant lunges towards KickHopper who his then thrown against one of the alley walls, there is now a chunk of that wall missing. PunchHopper sees this and slams the side of his belt, which results in the belts saying, " _ **CLOCK UP**_ ". Time begins to slow down for PunchHopper as he is now moving at superspeed thanks to the tachyon energy the ZECT Riders have. He runs to the Beast Dopant and puts his foot to the side of the Dopant's stomach and flips the leg of the grasshopper on his belt, " _ **RIDER JUMP**_ ". The Dopant then goes flying across the alley and hits a car, but the momentum from the amount of speed generated from that causes the Dopant to richochet off the car and back towards PunchHopper. PunchHopper, at this point, is now moving back at normal speed, with his belt saying, " _ **CLOCK OVER**_ ", but he flicks the grasshopper again and it states, " _ **RIDER PUNCH**_ ". And with that, the creature met his demise as it felt the impact of an over 10-ton punch crush its skull. The men who had used the Masquerade memories were all still alive, albeit badly injured, but the Beast Dopant had died with its Gaia Memory shattered. "I had it under control Eli" said KickHopper. "Yeah, sure Trevor, the part where you were thrown into a wall was genius" said PunchHopper. The two friends laughed it off and were about to take off their grasshopper zecters when suddenly:

 _ **ARE YOU READY?**_ _**HAGANE NO MOONSAULT! RABBITTANK! YEAH!**_

The sound of Kamen Rider Build's base form echoed throughout the alley, the newcomer to the Kamen Rider family walked to the two other Riders with his sword, the Drill Crusher out and ready for battle. "That was very impressive what you guys did back there, I saw the whole thing. But I think now you must realize that I must bring you back to HQ, where you will have to face the harsh reality that you betrayed the Kamen Riders and the UFE."


	4. Episode 2

The two Hopper riders looked at each other and had both decided that the best option for the both of them would be to leave before anyone got hurt, whether it be themselves or Kamen Rider Build. Build, while slow in his movement in walking toward the two other riders, was surprised by their lack of movement. "Um, you guys aren't going to try and run away or fight or something?" asked Build. "We don't want any trouble Andrew, we just wanted to deal with the Dopants and Greed and get out of here" said Trevor (KickHopper). "Yeah," said Elijah (PunchHopper), "Just because we left the UFE doesn't mean we're no longer Kamen Riders". "Well that's just not going to fly. I'm sorry but I have to ask you to give me your zectors and belts and to come with me back to Headquarters because you have to be punished for your desertion". Trevor and Elijah, unfortunately, couldn't see a way out of their predicament and Trevor looked at Andrew and said, "I'm sorry, but we're not coming back". Suddenly, both Hopper Riders pushed against the leg of their Hopper zectors, with the Belt screaming " _ **RIDER JUMP**_ ". Trevor and Elijah both leaped high into the air and landed on the rooftop they started on earlier that night before the fight with the monsters.

"Dammit", Andrew said as he saw the two riders that were once in front of him land on a rooftop and smack the side of their belts that enabled them to move at superspeed. " _ **CLOCK UP**_ ", is what the belts screamed as the two fugitive Riders ran into the night. Andrew tapped the side of helmet to access his commlink that all Riders in the UFE have. "Dan, it's Andrew, I just ran into Trevor and Eli, I'm going to try and chase after them, send OOO." Within a two second interval, Dan responded and said, "Alright, OOO is in route, do not let them get away, they must have some information necessary for finding the rest of the traitors". With the end of that call, Andrew took out the two fullbottles that were currently in his driver, inserted the Taka fullbottle and Gatling fullbottle, and turned the crank on his belt.

 _ **TAKA! GATLING! BEST MATCH! ARE YOU READY? TENKUU NO ABARENBOU! HAWKGATLING! YEAHHH!**_

The colors on Build's suit changed instantly from a red and blue design of a rabbit and tank motif to an orange and grey design of a hawk and gun motif, and with a large leap he took off into the air. Shortly thereafter, Andrew was joined by Kamen Rider OOO in his Tajador form and they split up and searched the city for the two Hopper Riders.

"Any luck so far Sean?" said Andrew. "No, I can't find any trace of them", said Sean (OOO). "Yeah, I can't find them either, their Clock Ups should have ended by now", said Andrew. "Dan, is the city-wide scanner picking up anything?" asked Sean. "Negative, there seems to be interference, which is odd since this software has the most up to date protection of all of humanity." "So, magic then?" asked Sean. "Yeah, Ashley gave me her letter of resignation today but failed to hand back her Wizardriver; so, expect some resistance in apprehending the traitors" replied Dan. The two flying Riders then rendezvoused on top of a shopping center and started to draw maps of the city in the rooftop's gravel. "Let's think about this for a minute", said Andrew, "If I were being hunted but felt some obligation to stay in the city, what would I do?" "Sean quickly stood up and said, "I would hide in plain sight, especially in a crowded area". That's when the two men quickly realized where they were standing atop of. Sean then said, "I'm going to make a call, be right back". Minutes after the call ended, what looked like a robotic bat was flying towards the two Riders. This bat is the Bat Shock, a digital camera that uses the power of the purified Bat Memory. "Thank you W!" said Sean happily. "What's that?" asked Andrew. OOO looked at Build and said, "this is the Bat Shock, its normally used by Kamen Rider W when they are hunting dopants or other monsters to do recon, but since they are off duty tonight I asked them if I could borrow this gadget." With that explanation out of the way, OOO sent the Bat Shock into the mall and it began taking pictures of every corner of the mall, including every single store. When the Bat Shock returned, Build and OOO went scouring through the hundreds of photos it took until they found one of two men sitting in the food quart. One of the men was short in stature and was a mix of Hispanic-Western Asian descent while the other was much larger and was a mix of African-Asian descent. OOO hit his commlink and said "Dan, we found them, but we will probably need backup". "Alright," said Dan, "I'm sending in the RiotTroopers to assist you, wait for them."


	5. Episode 3

It didn't take long for backup to arrive. It is 10:43 PM and 6 black vans appeared to crowd the mall's parking lot. Sean and Andrew leaped down from the building and reverted to their normal selves. Both men were wearing black fleece jackets with a white shirt underneath and black pants. Andrew is a Caucasian man with short black hair that is spiked in the front and on his jacket's left breast, there was the Kamen Rider Build logo. Sean is a slightly tanner man with short brown hair that had the OOO logo on his jacket's left breast. The two men approached one of the trucks and opened it up. To their surprise, they found a blond man, with similar attire as Andrew and Sean except for a bee with the word ZECT on his left breast, and Shadow Squad ZECT troopers in the truck instead of Riotroopers. "Josh?" asked Sean, "What are you doing here?". "Dan's orders, he wants to make sure that these targets are captured. The Riotroopers you are looking for are in the next 4 vans", said Josh. After doing some quick math, Andrew asked, "What about the sixth van?" Josh looked a little annoyed from the question, as if he didn't like the van's occupants, "The 3WA are here as well". It took a while for Sean to remember who they are, but then it came to him. The 3WA (World Wide Wing Association) are an organization whose members branched off from the UFE to handle monster threats after the death of Kamen Rider Femme. The United Factions of Earth do not consider them threats, but instead as a separate militia. The 3WA is currently led by Kamen Rider IXA, who is known for her harsh battle tactics and personality. The door on the 3WA's van was soon kicked open to reveal an attractive young woman of Puerto Rican descent with long brown hair tied into a ponytail wearing a black fleece with the IXA logo on her jacket's left breast, a white shirt, and black pants. Following her exit from the van was a man of Spanish descent, wearing the same attire as the woman. The man had a freshly cut military style haircut and his jacket had the Alternative Zero logo. The woman walked over to Andrew, Josh, and Sean and said, "Hello Joshua." "Celina", Josh said quickly but with slight disdain in his voice. Celina pointed to the man bearing the logo of Alternative Zero, "You remember Gabriel, right?" "How could I forget?" Josh said sarcastically, "There was so much controversy in trying to create a Rider's power synthetically that it almost created a war in itself". Celina gave a look of anger at Josh and responded "Well it seems to me that some of your fellow ZECT Riders are causing a little trouble and since that's the case, how do we know you won't join the Hoppers' side on this. Why do you think Dan sent us here, he clearly doesn't have trust in your ability to apprehend these traitors?" Josh's face is now one of pure rage and anger, he is so tempted to call his TheBee Zecter and just as he is about to pull his sleeve down to reveal his Rider Brace, Andrew jumps into the conversation and says, "Guys, I understand you two probably have a lot of issues but now is not the time, our job is to stop these traitors and to bring them in".

After Andrew finishes his sentence, another van's door is kicked open and out comes roughly 15 Riotroopers and two men, one is Caucasian with red hair and a snake logo on his left breast and the other is African-American with black hair and a chameleon logo on his left breast. "Bringing these traitors in? Yeah, okay, sure, keep thinking that", said the man with the snake logo. The man with the chameleon logo stepped forward and looked at Gabriel and said, "What the hell is this guy doing here, you are NOT one of us. You are no Advent Rider" Dan then cut into everyone's communications to give as much authoritative direction as possible, "Listen everyone, our job is to get KickHopper and PunchHopper out of the mall and into our custody. The odds of this being a peaceful encounter are very slim, so expect resistance. I understand that some of you are not on the best terms with each other since Femme's death, but this is an important mission, so get over it!" The parking lot of the mall was very quiet after that little speech that it became apparent that it was time to begin the mission. Josh called Dan and said, "I really don't think it's a good idea to involve Dustin (Ouja) and Tyler (Verde), it's clear they are out for blood." Dan replied ominously with, "You have your orders, they have theirs". Josh looked a little saddened after that sentence but replied with "Yes Sir". "Good", said Dan who then cut into everyone's communications again and said, "Alright guys, the leader of this mission is Josh, follow him with no questions asked, that includes you Celina and your organization". Josh couldn't help but have a smile grow on his face as he saw Celina's face look at him in disgust. Josh stepped forward and laid out the battle plan "Okay here's how this will all go down. First, the Riotroopers will wait by the back entrance and will await my go ahead. Second, Sean and Andrew will enter in through the skylight above the food court when things get hairy. Third, the 3WA will wait here by the main entrance and will await my go ahead to enter as well. Shadow squad will wait outside the food court entrance while I go in and talk to the targets, they know me so there is a chance I can get them to come peacefully. Now, any questions?" Everyone looked at him but said nothing. "Alright then. Riders Suit Up!"

Andrew loaded the Rabbit Fullbottle and Tank Fullbottle into his driver, and cranked the lever.

 _ **RABBIT! TANK! BEST MATCH! ARE YOU READY?**_ _**HAGANE NO MOONSAULT! RABBITTANK! YEAH!**_

Sean took out three core medals from his O Medal Holder and placed those in his driver.

 _ **TAKA, TORRA, BATTA: TA-TO-BA! TATOBA, TA-TO-BA!**_

Celina pulled out the IXA Knuckle, pressed upon it, and placed it into her belt.

 _ **RE-A-DY! FIST ON!**_

Dustin, Gabriel, and Tyler pulled out their advent decks and held them to the reflective surfaces of the vans until their belts materialized from the Mirror World, they then each put their decks into their belts.

 **Author's Note: Thank you all so much for reading what I have so far. I am not the best writer but for those who have favorited and followed this fanfic, I greatly appreciate it. The next chapter may take time to write, since I am very busy right now with academics. If there are any questions with how I am re-establishing the lore of this universe, feel free to ask.**


	6. Episode 4

Trevor and Elijah were sitting at the food court trying to blend in and look casual whilst they keep an eye out for any people they know are in the UFE. Trevor couldn't help but feel as though he and Elijah were being watched and wondered if maybe they are waiting for a trap to occur to them. Elijah, on the other hand, felt as though through his cunning and his intelligence that the two men had escaped the danger and that they were in the clear. "This doesn't feel right", Trevor said. Elijah looked at Trevor and said, "We got away bro, I think you need to relax and be less paranoid". "You can't be so naïve Eli; speaking of naïve, have you seen Ashley yet?" asked Trevor. Elijah shook his head, "Nope, she said she would be here 10 minutes ago. What I don't understand is that she is supposed to be a master of magic, couldn't she just, I don't know, teleport here?" Trevor argued, "Maybe she doesn't want to attract the attention of Wizard or Beast?" Elijah nodded in agreement. Trevor's head perked up as he saw a blond man the duo once knew in the UFE walk toward them. "We got company buddy", Trevor said as both he and Elijah stood up from their seats. The blond man put his hands up and said, "Don't worry, I'm just here to talk". The three men then sat down at table. Elijah laughed, "The last time we talked to you Josh you ended up being punched into a wall, sorry about that by the way". Josh let out a slight chuckle, "Yeah, that happened. Listen guys, you know you have to give up and come back to headquarters, maybe I can get you guys back in with only minor punishments". "Jason is innocent!", Trevor asserted, "There is no way he would kill another Rider, much less a Rider that he cared about". Josh noted Trevor's heightened tone and said, "Let's just calm down guys, I don't want there to be trouble". Elijah looked up at the skylight, saw the TheBee Zecter waiting for the call of its master, and rose from his seat and stated, "Then you shouldn't have come here". Moments after that sentence was spoken, the Hopper Zecters leaped toward the table and to the hands of their masters, the two men then slipped the Zecters onto their belts.

 _ **HENSHIN! CHANGE KICKHOPPER!  
HENSHIN! CHANGE PUNCHHOPPER!**_

Josh put his head down in disappointment tapped on his commlink and said, "Alright everyone, move in!" Within seconds the Shadow Squad ZECT troopers ran into the food court and aimed their wrist mounted guns at the two renegade Kamen Riders. Kamen Rider OOO and Kamen Rider Build leaped from the skylight to the ground with OOO carrying his Medajailbur and Build carrying his Drill Crusher. IXA and an army of Riotroopers came in from the main entrance of the mall and ran toward the commotion at the food court. The TheBee Zecter then came flying down to its master and landed on his Rider Brace; with two turns of the Zecter, Josh initiated the transformation sequence.

 _ **HENSHIN! CAST OFF! CHANGE WASP!**_

IXA looked at the Hopper Riders and said, "By order of the UFE and the 3WA, you two are under arrest". The two Riders looked at each other, laughed, said, "Yeah, that's not happening", and both hit the said of their belts. _**CLOCK UP!**_ Those words rang throughout the mall as the two Riders were moving faster than any human could see. Josh couldn't let them get away, so he initiated his clock up, _**CLOCK UP!**_ Now three Kamen Riders were moving at superspeed and began fighting. Josh's main concern was to incapacitate the renegades before something worse occurred; with that in mind, Josh (before going into Clock Up) instructed IXA, who could use her scanners to follow those moving at superspeed, to aim for the back of their knees. IXA took aim at where her scanners calculated PunchHopper to go and shot the back of his knee. _**CLOCK OVER!**_ sounded throughout the mall as PunchHopper fell to the ground in pain. Before KickHopper could go help his friend, TheBee kicked him in his abdomen and he flew towards the window of a clothes store. _**CLOCK OVER!**_ echoed as both riders returned to normal speed. Once he got up, KickHopper saw two purple gloved hands grab him and pull him into the reflection of the window, into Mirror World.

As PunchHopper was getting up from the ground, he saw Kamen Riders OOO, IXA, Build, TheBee, ZECT troopers, and Riotroopers had surrounded him. "Eli, please, just listen! If we don't stop this fight now, innocents will get hurt", Josh pleaded. Elijah knew that Josh was right. The more they fought in this location, the more people would get hurt; but then, Elijah noticed that his friend was missing. "Where's Trevor?" Elijah asked. "The same place you're going, Hell!" an invisible figure screamed as a punch from an unknown assailant was thrown at Elijah, knocking him to the ground once more. Slowly becoming visible, Kamen Rider Verde picked up Elijah, whose armor had disappeared once his Zecter leapt away, turned to Josh and IXA, said, "Dan wants Ouja and I to bring in the traitors", and walked toward the reflective window that Trevor had disappeared into earlier. Josh argued, "I'm not sure that's a great idea, I don't think Dan's in the right place right now, mentally". Verde turned to Josh and said, "One of ours was murdered by one of yours, I really don't think you have the right to order me around". Before Josh could reply a new individual had entered the food court with an orange helmet covered by a white robe.

 _ **LUPACHI MAGIC TOUCH GO! BARRIER, NOW!**_

An orange magical incantation surrounded the window that Verde wished to enter and prevented access into and out of the Mirror World. "Can I join in the fun", a feminine voice said as she flicked the switch on her Wizardriver again.

 _ **LUPACHI MAGIC TOUCH GO! CONNECT, NOW!**_

Another orange magical symbol appeared next to this "White Wizard" and she put her hand into it and pulled out the Hamel Cane, a magical weapon that can be used as a spear or flute. "Well, there's Ashley", OOO said to Build as he raised his Medajailbur. Verde looked at the ground annoyed, "I don't have time for this. Gabe if your going to be useful, do it now!" Out from one of the mirrors in the clothes store, Alternative Zero stepped out and scanned two of his advent cards into his Slash Visor.

 _ **SWORD VENT! ACCELE VENT!**_

With a burst of intense speed, Alternative Zero rushed towards Kamen Rider Wiseman and slashed across her back with his Slash Dagger before she could blink twice. With the commotion being a distraction to the other Riders, Elijah extended his hand, calling his Hopper Zecter to him, and transforming into Kamen Rider PunchHopper once more.

 _ **HENSHIN! CHANGE PUNCHHOPPER!**_

Elijah went towards Ashley and helped her up. "They took Trevor and now there after me, I think we're going to be put to death", Elijah said to Ashley. Ashley responded, "I was told to get you and Trevor back to Jason, and I plan on bringing you both back alive".

Meanwhile in Mirror World, Ouja looks at KickHopper on the floor as for the past 3 minutes he had repeatedly kicked him in the back of the knees and neck. "You know, for killing one of us, you sure don't seem guilty about it", Ouja remarked. Trevor looked up at Ouja, "I didn't kill anyone and neither did Jason, were not like you Dustin". Dustin gave a slight chuckle and kicked the back of Trevor's neck once more, "While you yourself may not be the killer, it all means the same thing. Think about it, you are helping a killer get away, therefore you are giving him the opportunity to take more lives. In my eyes you are just as guilty". Whilst Dustin was giving this short monologue, Trevor was slowly moving his hand towards the clock up function of his belt, and as Dustin finished his last sentence " _ **CLOCK UP!**_ " was screamed from Trevor's belt and he spent the whole time in Clock Up to get up and rest before it wore off. Once " _ **CLOCK OVER!**_ " __was spoken by the belt, Ouja had only blinked when he saw the KickHopper standing before him ready for another round of fighting. KickHopper flicked the leg of the Zecter, and the belt states " _ **RIDER JUMP**_ ". Trevor makes a huge leap forward at Ouja and aims for the reflective window, because only advent riders can enter or exit the mirror world freely. Thankfully, by this time the barrier enchantment that Wiseman had made wore off and both Riders fell back into the real world. As Trevor looked up, he saw a complete mess of a fight scene. Elijah was fighting both OOO (who had now swapped out his tiger (torra) medal for his gorilla medal) and IXA and was losing. Ashley was fighting against Verde and Alternative Zero and was also losing. Build had seen Trevor leap through the reflective window with a now unconscious Dustin who had lost his armor. "Sorry man", Andrew said, "But this battle looks like it's going to end with some innocents getting hurt, and I can't have that. Maybe when you wake up you'll forgive me." With that, Andrew turns the crank on his driver to prepare his finisher.

 _ **READY, GO! VORTEX FINISH! YEAHHH**_

Build goes underground and sends a white energy chart to the surface with the dotted line heading towards KickHopper. Build then leaps on top of the chart and rides down the dotted line feet first. Before contact is made, Trevor hits the side of his belt, " _ **CLOCK UP**_ ", and moves away from the chart towards Build. "No, I'm sorry", Trevor says and flicks the leg of the Zecter back into its original position, " _ **RIDER KICK**_ ". Andrew goes flying through the window, shattering it, and crashes through the check out desk. The trauma from the impact was too much stress to bare and the armor comes off, leaving Andrew unconscious. Trevor runs towards Ashley and Elijah, "Guys we need to get out of here", he says. "I got just the thing!" exclaims Ashley.

 _ **LUPACHI MAGIC TOUCH GO! EXPLOSION, NOW!**_

Orange magical portals surround the renegade riders and explosions occur on them, sending the UFE riders flying back. "Alright one more!" Ashley screams.

 _ **LUPACHI MAGIC TOUCH GO! TELEPORT, NOW!**_

Once the smoke clears, the three renegades are gone. Every Rider now present reverts back to their normal human selves with looks at disappointment and anger at one another.


	7. Episode 5

"What do you mean they got away?" yelled Dan as both he, Josh, and Andrew were walking down a corridor in their headquarters. "Ashley showed up just when Tyler was going to take Elijah into the Mirror World. One thing led to another and now we are here", responded Josh. Dan scolded at him and turned his attention to the newcomer, "Is this an accurate assessment of the events that had transpired earlier tonight Andrew?" Andrew looked nervous, sure he was a member of the Kamen Rider Head Council but he knew his place among his elders. "Yes sir", Andrew responded, "In my opinion Josh showed excellent leadership skills". Josh could not help but smirk at Andrew's response to Dan's inquiry. Josh loved to hear about himself when it came to his leadership capabilities, much of his pride was built around it. Josh's smirk, unfortunately, did not escape the gaze of Dan as Dan looked at the man and asked, "If your leadership skills are so 'excellent' then why did the traitors escape your grasp". Josh wanted to say that the failure of the mission was due to the presence of Ouja and Verde acting on their own agenda, but what came out of his mouth was, "I'm…I'm not sure". "I think it best you figure it out", Dan said, "Now, report to Rose for debriefing". Josh, with a defeated look on his face, responded with a quiet, "Yes sir" and began walking to the Mission Center of the base. Andrew, however, did not leave. "Is there something I can help you with Andrew?" Dan asked plainly. Andrew got nervous again and said, "Well, it's just…um…I have a council question and I figure since you and I are both council members, I could ask you." Dan became curious as to what the question may be, but the curiosity soon faded as he quickly guessed the question, "Are you going to ask who is taking over the vacant seats on the council?" Andrew, a bit surprised that Dan guessed the question correctly, responded nervously, "Yes…s-si-sir". Dan looked amazed at Andrew, because he thought the question was absolutely stupid and demonstrated that Andrew failed to read the Code of the Council. "Why do you think it is requested of all of us to bring one person we trust to council meetings?" Dan asked angrily. Andrew thought carefully about what to say next and replied, "I'm guessing it's kind of like an understudy situation, where if one council member is unable to fulfill his or her duties, then the trusted person will take over". "Correct", Dan affirmed a mere half-second after Andrew finished, "If you had read the Code you would not have had to waste my time with such a ridiculous question". Andrew was starting to become offended by Dan's attitude towards him but knew he had to be respectful and said, "I'm sorry sir, I'll go to the Mission Center for debriefing".

Normally the debriefing process for missions takes at least an hour or at most two hours; however, this time it took four hours. Walking out of the Mission control center were five individuals, four men and one woman. Three of the men, Josh, Sean, and Andrew, were walking in front of the two other individuals, Dan and Rose. Rose was a 5'4", Caucasian woman with a heart-shaped face. Rose wore the same attire that most of the other Kamen Riders wore, a black fleece covering a white shirt with the Kamen Rider Zangetsu logo on the left breast of the fleece with black pants. Rose's medium length brown hair was braided and rested on her back. Dan was a man of mixed Italian and Cuban descent with a chiseled chin and horn-rimmed glasses that make him stand out amongst a crowd. Dan's hair was jet black and slicked back and his fleece had the Ryuki symbol on its left breast. "Do you want to spar in 5 minutes?" asked Dan. Rose responded, "Depends, with or without armor?" Dan chuckled at the question, "For your sake, I think without". Rose glanced at him coldly, she was not the type of woman to take humor lightly, not one man as ever seen her laugh. The only people who have seen Rose laugh or have a positive disposition are her small group of friends in the female dormitory. Rose responded to Dan's remark by saying harshly, "Fine". "Fine sir", Dan corrected her. Rose froze in her tracks and stated, "I only call Gaim 'sir'". Dan glared at the young woman and responded, "I am still your superior, and you will treat me with as much respect as you treat Kamen Rider Gaim. See you in a few minutes". Andrew could not help but hear the conversation, becoming increasingly offended with how Dan treated his fellow Riders. Andrew partly understood why Dan was rude, after all he lost someone he loved. During Rose's and Dan's conversation, Sean had been watching Andrew's face getting more agitated and said to the young man, "Andrew, follow me, we should talk council member to council member". "I don't know, the last time I talked to a council member, I did not find it quite fun", Andrew said jokingly. Sean smiled, "Follow me rookie".

Sean and Andrew had walked to the male dormitory and went into the recreation center down in the building's basement. The recreation center was pretty basic in concept, the room contained a large television in the center of the northmost wall, a table tennis table, and a few couches. Sean leaped over a tartan-patterned couch and sat on it, he enjoyed being a show off. Andrew, not wanting to risk injuring himself, calmly walked over to a dark cyan couch across from the couch Sean was sitting in. "So, Andrew, what bothered you most about the conversation we all overheard? Was it Dan's treatment of Rose or was it Rose being her cold self", asked Sean. Andrew was unsure how to answer the question, he thinks he can trust Sean, after all, when Rose was grilling Andrew on his failure to defeat Kamen Rider KickHopper in combat, Sean stood up for him. However, there was still doubt in Andrew's mind if Sean would report him for suggesting that Dan was at any fault. "I guess both", Andrew answered anxiously. Sean had a puzzled look on his face as he was trying to decide where to start explaining things. "Before Annie was murdered, Dan was very pleasant to be around, always being the life of a party. Dan and Annie were, from what it appeared, very much in love and were engaged after three years of dating. However, there were some rumors as to her loyalty to Dan as she and Jason had been seen getting closer and closer as they trained together more. When Annie died, and Jason left, it was decided by the Kamen Rider Supreme Council that Dan, because of his genius strategy skills, would lead the Kamen Riders to reunification and to imprison the traitors. Now, Rose is an interesting young woman. From what I have always seen, she has been very cold and untrusting of many people, especially when she was promoted to lead the Kurokage Troopers into Helheim to acquire more lockseeds. The only men that I know of that Rose talks to are Kamen Rider Gaim and Dan", Sean said. Andrew did not know what to say, he was surprised that someone such as Sean knew so much about everything. "How do you know all of this?", asked Andrew. Sean looked down with a little sadness, "The council typically meets up to discuss everything that occurs in the lives of our supervisees to ensure that there exists little drama amongst any of the Riders so that we can all work together and stop dangerous threats to our planet. Unfortunately, with everything going on right now we have not had an official meeting in 3 weeks". Andrew's face began to show signs of him being reassured and honored to be a part of such an organization. "What is the Kamen Rider Supreme Council?" Andrew inquired. Sean laughed, "They are our bosses dude, they are our predecessors. You know them as Kamen Riders Ichigo, Nigo, V3, Riderman, X, Amazon, Stronger, SkyRider, Super-1, ZX, Black, Shin, ZO, and J". Andrew was surprised, he thought those Riders had either retired or died and just as he was about to ask more questions, his commlink beeped and showed that his roommate, Blake, was calling him. "Sorry man, I got to go", Andrew said. Sean smiled, "It's alright, tell Blake I say hi".

It took awhile for Andrew to remember which pocket held the key to his room but eventually he found the golden key and placed it into the doorknob. Once in the room, Andrew could see that the room was exactly as he left it, a mess. On the left side of the room was Blake sitting in a wooden chair staring at three documents. Blake's head rose when he noticed that Andrew entered the room. Angrily Blake yelled, "What the hell is this?", as he threw the three documents at Andrew. It took Andrew a minute to realize what they were; one was a set of orders for an upcoming raid on the traitor's hideout, another was a signed order for the Rider given the first document to go through with the orders, and the last paper was a list of consequences if the order is disobeyed. In the UFE, each non-council member Kamen Rider has a supervisor that signs the second document, and Blake's supervisor was Andrew. There was a little problem with the documents though, Andrew did not recall signing the second document which bound Blake to participating in the raid. Before Andrew could speak, Blake stated, "I am not hunting down my friends and fellow Riders, it's just wrong!" Andrew responded, "Blake, listen, I don't know what's going on here, I did not sign this second document. Someone must have forged my signature". Then the speaker buzzed to life that was present throughout all the buildings in the UFE compound and stated, "Kamen Riders Knight, Brave, Baron, and IXA report to the Mission Center immediately!"


	8. Episode 6

Celina was the first one to the Mission Control Center with the other Riders appearing seconds later. The woman had glanced at the other people in the room. Besides Dan and Rose being present, there was also Michael, a man with short blond hair who wore glasses and had the Kamen Rider Brave logo on his fleece, Henry, a man with long brown hair with glasses who had the Kamen Rider Baron logo on his fleece, and a man named Steven. Steven was taller than both Michael and Henry, being about 6 feet tall as well as having short yet curly brown hair with the Kamen Rider Knight logo on his fleece. Once the Riders had taken their seats, Dan began discussing the reasoning for their meeting. "Thank you all for coming, an alert has come from Columbus, Ohio. It appears to be Worm", stated Dan. Rose spoke up, "Your task is to eliminate all the worms in that area before they molt. Fortunately, the worms are currently in their Salis state, so you need not worry about them moving at above common speeds. Are there any questions?" Henry raised his hand, "If you don't mind me asking, why are you sending us and not any of ZECT Riders who are trained to the worms?" Dan frowned, "It's simple, if Jason or any of the other traitors make an appearance, the ZECT Riders with their loyalties tied to the UFE will apprehend them". Henry and Michael looked at each other, being somewhat pleased with the answer that was given to them. Celina, on the other hand, stood up and said, "Well that's incredibly stupid and a complete waste of our talents, if the worms molt we can't compete with that speed. Plus, I don't serve the UFE anymore, so I bid you guys all luck, you'll need it". Celina began walking to the door with the intention of leaving, but that plan was soon tarnished as a silver door slid shut, locking the Riders in that room. With a sigh, Celina turned around and saw Dan standing next to a wall containing multiple buttons that, as one may suggest, control the environment of the room. Dan looked at Celina disappointed and said, "The 3WA now serves under the UFE, therefore you serve under me". "What!", Celina said appalled, "We are an independent organization that does good and has not interfered with the UFE". Dan smiled, "Which is why it will make a great asset to our military". Celina was very much annoyed and angry with Dan's response and commanded angrily, "Open the door, Daniel". Dan's face went back to its usual seriousness, "Not until you calm down and figure out a plan with the rest of your team of knights". In a flash of adrenaline filled speed, Celina pulled the IXA Knuckle out of one of her pockets. Rose, in response, attached her Sengoku Driver to her waist, while Henry, Michael, Steven, and Dan all watched. "I really don't want to have to hurt you Celina", Rose said. Celina, looking a little saddened, stated, "I don't want to hurt you either". Dan calmly walked over to the panel of buttons, pushed the button that opens the door, and stated, "Think about it like this, if you walk out that door right now, you will be considered as one of the traitors the UFE must bring in, you'll be considered the same as Jason". A fire within Celina burned, she hated Jason, the traitor who constantly made a fool of her during sparring sessions and weapons training. Before Celina could think of her response, an alert sounded on the monitor of the room stating, "INCOMING MESSAGE". Dan quickly answered the call, it was the governor of Ohio. "Governor", Dan said, "What's the damage so far?" The man on the screen was a very sweaty and plump man who stated, "From what I've been hearing from my citizens, its mass chaos in Columbus. Please we need help". Dan looked at the Riders he called to the room and ordered, "Go! We will discuss the 3WA's future in the UFE later". Celina nodded as she, Michael, Henry, and Steven ran to the garage to prep their motorcycles.

The trip to Columbus, Ohio took around 20 minutes in total from the Riders' Headquarters in Seattle, Washington. The UFE has Jump Gates in every city of the World to ensure quick responses to emergency alerts. These Jump Gates utilize SHOCKER technology that Kamen Riders Ichigo and Nigo confiscated during one of their many raids post-WWII that allow for instantaneous transportation. Upon exiting the Jump Gate in Columbus, Steven took the lead of the group of "knight riders" as they rode to the rising smoke coming from the Worm's chaos. As the Riders got closer they were pleased to see that the Worms were still Salis, the group then got off their motorcycles and attached their belts. Steven looked at the mirror on his motorcycle and held up his advent deck and slid it into the belt that was generated from his reflection. Three mirror projections of the Kamen Rider Knight armor converged onto Steven, leaving a Bat-Knight-like figure standing holding his Dark Visor in an attacking position. Henry took out his banana lockseed and pressed the switch on the side, eliciting its activation sound, " _ **BANANA**_ ". A circular zipper appeared 2 feet above Henry's head with it quickly unzipping showing a large banana from Helheim that began slowly descending towards Henry. Henry then attached the lockseed to his Sengoku Driver and began the transformation process by slicing the mechanical knife on his driver.

 _ **LOCK ON! COME ON! BANANA ARMS: KNIGHT OF SPE~AR**_

Where Henry once stood now stands a red warrior with yellow banana armor holding his Banaspear. Celina took her IXA Knuckle, pressed the switch inside of it with her left hand which triggered the " _ **RE-A-DY!**_ " sound, and slammed it into her belt causing the belt to exclaim " _ **FIST ON!**_ ". A yellow holographic image of the Kamen Rider IXA armor appeared in front of Celina and merged with her, thereby placing her within the armor. The red eyes of Celina's helmet were concealed for less than a second as with a burst of heat she entered IXA Burst mode. Michael then activated his Taddle Quest gashat, which exclaimed, " _ **TADDLE QUEST**_ ". The man then slammed the gashat into his Game Driver.

 _ **GASHAT! LET'S GAME! METCHA GAME! MUTCHA GAME! WHAT'S YOUR NAME?! I'M A KAMEN RIDER!**_

After the flash of light that concluded Michael's transformation stood a stout blue knight with yellow eyes and a small light-blue shield being held by his left hand. Kamen Rider Brave Lv. 1 held out his right hand summoning the Gashacon Sword to his hand. IXA looked at Brave and asked, "Don't you think that you should, I don't know, 'level up' so that we can be done with this quickly?" Kamen Rider Brave had to turn his whole body to face IXA and said, "There is no point in wasting too much energy for these pathetic, slow-moving creatures. If they decide to molt and become a bit more interesting, then yes I will 'level up'". Kamen Rider Knight took the lead and began moving forward as he pulled out a card from his advent deck located on his belt. "Enough Talk", Knight says as he holds up his Sword Vent card and places it into his Dark Visor, eliciting the activation sound of " _ **SWORD VENT**_ ". Darkwing, Knight's advent beast, flies overhead and sends its lance shaped tail to the Kamen Rider and Knight charges forward. As the rest of the Riders charged into battle, Kamen Rider Baron stopped and turned around as he saw that more Salis Worms were flanking he and the team. "I don't have time for this", Baron exclaims as he slices the mechanical knife on his driver three times preparing his Spear Victory finisher. " _ **BANANA SPARKING**_ ", the Sengoku Driver screams as Baron slams his Banaspear on the ground causing large yellow hard-light projections of bananas to erupt from beneath the ground destroying the flanking pests. Kamen Rider IXA took her IXA Calibur and sliced through two Worms with ease, but ended up getting separated from her weapon as five Worms tackled her to the ground. Brave saw IXA's unfortunate predicament and cut through the Worms above her with ease. "Thanks", IXA says as she reclaims her sword. Kamen Rider Knight then flips over them and shoves his lance into a Worm, killing it instantly. Within a minute, the threat had been dealt with and the Riders regrouped. "You see", Michael says happily as he turns towards IXA, "There was no point in using my higher power forms". Baron looks down and thinks for a minute, "This was way too easy, plus a group of Worms don't just spontaneously show up and cause chaos". Before Baron could express his concerns to the group, lightning bolts strike the Riders and explosions occur near them, causing them to fall to the ground in intense pain. The Riders look and see a total of 11 Worms: 10 were Salis, the other was a Sectio Worm. A Sectio Worm is a dark green Mantis based worm with scythes on its ears, shoulders, and left arm that is known for his shocking ability and acid bubbles. In a burst of intense speed that no one could keep up with, the Sectio Worm runs up and grabs IXA and spits into her helmet, causing acidic bubbles to melt away her armored helmet. As this is occurring, everyone else fails to notice that the other 10 Worms had been killed and, in a flash, the Sectio Worm flew off IXA involuntarily and landed 3 meters away. Everyone then heard what came next, " _ **1, 2, 3, RIDER KICK**_ ", as the Worm erupted into green flame. " _ **CLOCK OVER**_ ", then echoed throughout the area as the savior of the other Riders stood firm and unflinching. He, of course, was Kamen Rider Kabuto and as he turned to look at the other Riders, Kamen Rider Knight activated his commlink and said, "Dan, Jason's here".


	9. Episode 7

"Kill him now!", Dan screams to the Kamen Riders over his commlink, "The traitor must die for killing Annie!" Knight rises from the ground and says, "Agreed". IXA charges toward Kabuto in a rage with her IXA Calibur in a stabbing position and just as her sword is about to touch Kabuto he dodges, grabs her right wrist, and in a swift motion, breaks it. IXA screams in pain as she falls to the ground and her armor disappears. Kamen Rider Brave takes out the Night of Safari gashat and activates it with it yelling, " _ **NIGHT OF SAFARI**_ ". Brave then slides the gashat into the empty slot near his primary Taddle Fantasy gashat and opens his Gamer Driver.

 _ **Gachan! Level Up! Taddle Meguru! Taddle Meguru! Taddle Quest~! A Gacha! Lion, Shimauma, Kirin! Mayonaka no Jungle! (Hey!) Night of Safari!**_

Now standing where the obtuse blue knight used to be is Kamen Rider Brave Lv. 4, with a cat shaped helmet covering Brave's main helmet, cheetah printed shoulders, boots, and blades extending from his wrists. In a burst of speed, Brave leaps at Kabuto but the silent Kamen Rider dodges the attack with ease. Kabuto draws his Kunai Gun and points it at Brave. Kamen Rider Knight moves behind Kabuto and says, "It's time for you to receive the death penalty", as he slides one of his cards into his Dark Visor, with it screaming " _ **FINAL VENT**_ ". Kamen Rider Knight leaps into the air as his advent beast, Darkwing, attaches to his back and encircles him creating a black tornado that is charging at Kabuto. Kabuto calmly slams the side of his belt, " _ **CLOCK UP**_ ", and begins to move at the speed of light. While in this state of enhanced speed, Kabuto grabs Brave and moves him to where Knight is going to land his attack. " _ **CLOCK OVER**_ " rings throughout the area followed by an explosion of the collision between Brave and Knight. Kamen Rider Knight stands up and is shocked by seeing an unconscious Michael on the ground. Baron picks up Celina and yells, "We need to get into the Mirror World now!" Dan, through the commlink, responds angrily, "No! You will continue to fight him until he is dead, that is an order!" "Dan!", Knight responds, "Celina and Michael need medical attention, I am taking them into the Mirror World so that Jason can't follow us". Dan slams his hand on a desk in frustration and finally relents, "Fine, take them into the Mirror World, but they can't be in there long without their armor, or they will be disintegrated." Knight picks up Michael and meets up with Baron and Celina at the base of a building where the reflective surfaces of windows are bountiful. Baron grabs onto Knight and they walk through the reflective surface of the window into Mirror World. As the Kamen Riders enter Mirror World, Knight turns around and sees Kabuto in the spot where he had collided with Brave. Kabuto did not try to pursue the other Riders and had stared at the mirrors of the building they had entered to ensure that no more Riders would come out to fight him. Slowly, Kabuto went to his Kabuto Extender and rode away from the city.

Twenty minutes after Steven, Celina, Michael, and Henry had returned to headquarters, Dan ran to confront them at the infirmary wing. Once there, Dan saw the extent of the damages, Kabuto had caused to Celina and Michael. Celina, indeed, had a broken wrist, but the damage was more severe as her bone was broken in multiple places, which will take at least a day for her to recover from, despite the Kamen Riders having the most advanced medical technology on the planet. Michael was much worse, Michael had yet to regain consciousness and had multiple fractured ribs. Dan looked at Steven and Henry and beckoned them to follow him, which they did. The three men went into the Mission Control Center and began the debriefing. "What the Hell happened out there?", yelled Dan. Steven responded, "When we first arrived on the scene, it appeared that the Worms would be easy to take care of as there seemed to be a small number of them…" Dan cut him off, "I don't give a damn about the Worms, I care about why Jason got away alive!" "In our defense, we had no idea he would show up, we aren't even trained to combat a rogue Rider, especially an ex-council member. It also doesn't help that he helped to train all of us", Henry stated. Dan gave a sharp gaze at Henry but knew that he was right. "I have a question", a female voice said. The three men looked toward the direction of the voice and saw Celina who asked, "You said that if Jason were to show up that the ZECT Riders you possess would come help us out, so my question is, where were they?" Dan looked at her, clearly annoyed, "You should be in the infirmary wing". Henry spoke up, "She has a point Dan, where were the other riders?" Dan chuckled, "How many seconds was your conflict with Jason?" "How the Hell am I supposed to know?", yelled Henry. "50 seconds", Steven stated, "50 seconds after I informed you of Jason's appearance is when we went into the Mirror World". "Correct!", Dan said with a smile on his face, "We may have the most advanced technology in the planet, but we could not have gotten the other ZECT Riders to your location within that small timeframe". Celina was angered by Dan's response, but figured he was telling the truth; but she had a more pressing concern on her mind. Celina looked at Dan and said, "Now that our mission is over, let us continue our previous discussion on how the UFE 'absorbed' the 3WA". "There are more pressing concerns. Henry, you are a good soldier but your clearance isn't high enough for the coming meeting so I must ask you to leave," Dan said. Henry responded, "Yes sir", and left the room leaving Steven and Celina alone with Dan. Dan walked towards the room's control panel and pressed a button which generated a holographic projection of a warehouse. Celina looked unimpressed, "What are you showing us?" Steven's head perked up and looked at Dan, "You found them". Dan smirked, "During the scuffle at the mall, I had Tyler place a tracker on Elijah, to be quite honest I'm quite surprised Jason or any of the other traitors haven't noticed it yet". Celina looked at the warehouse more carefully, "Only one entrance?" Dan responded, "As far as we know". Celina nodded her head and asked, "So, what's the plan?" A chuckle escaped from Dan's mouth as he turned to her and stated, "Oh, I'm sure you and Josh will come up with something". Celina's face grew enraged and she yelled, "What? How can that be, first you make me his subordinate, then you 'absorb' the 3WA, and now this". Steven smirked, "Sounds to me like a promotion". Dan pressed another button on the control panel, which removed the holographic warehouse and now generated holograms of different Kamen Riders. "These are the Kamen Riders who will be joining you and Josh on the mission," said Dan, "I believe you are familiar with most of them". Celina read each of the Rider's names: Gatack, Alternative Zero, Rey, Knight, Sasword, Cross-Z, Gaim, Zangetsu, Double, OOO, Ghost, Specter, Ouja, Scissors, Tiger, Fuma, and Imperer. "We'll also have five dozen Riottroopers and ZECT troopers, including Josh's Shadow Squad", Dan confirmed. Celina turned to look at Dan and with a smile said, "When do you want the plan by?" Dan responded, "You and Josh have 2 hours, now go". Celina took her leave instantly and right before Steven could leave Dan grabbed him and said, "I need to talk to you and the other Advent Riders about something, we will be meeting in the Mirror World in 20 minutes". "Yes sir", Steven responded, and he left the Mission Control Center.


	10. Episode 8

The Mission Control Center was crowded, never had so many Kamen Riders appeared in that room apart from Femme's death. Josh found himself completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of people in the room and the amount of noise they produced. A quick peak around the room allowed for Josh to take attendance. At one end of the table were Lauren and Kyle, Kamen Riders Fuma and Gatack respectively. Lauren had long dirty-blond hair that was always straight, a pair of glasses, and was a little on the chubby side but was still a formidable fighter. Kyle was of Filipino descent, also wore glasses, and was much skinnier than Lauren. Since Kyle was one of Jason's most trusted friends, it was a surprise when he decided to remain with the UFE and to not defect. The two Riders seemed to be having either a heated discussion or a full-blown argument, Josh always found it hard to tell which emotion Lauren emitted due to her reclusive nature. Sitting across from Lauren and Kyle were much younger looking individuals who Josh recognized as Jacob and Matthew. Jacob, aka Kamen Rider Ghost, was a Caucasian male with short brown hair, a pair of glasses, and had black stud earrings in each ear and Matthew, aka Kamen Rider Spector, was of Portuguese descent and had short black hair. Sitting Next to Jacob was Rose who looked as if the amount of annoyance she exuded was directly proportional to the level of the volume in the room. Next to Rose sat two young women, Natalie and Caitlin, who were the co-users of the Kamen Rider W system. Natalie is Hispanic, has shoulder-length wavy black hair, and has an everlasting smile that showed her white teeth. Caitlin, on the other hand, is Caucasian, has wavy brown hair that goes about half her back and has a personality that radiates positivity. Both Caitlin and Natalie saw how annoyed Rose was and decided to talk to her which elicited a smile from Rose. Josh could not help but to stare at Rose as this was one of the few times he has seen her smile.

After about five minutes, a young man of Chinese descent walked into the Mission Control Center. The man turned to look at Josh and said, "Gee, I wonder whose birthday it is?" Josh turned and smiled and both men performed a fist bump and grabbed the other's forearm, a common handshake amongst the Kamen Riders. "When did you get back Geoff?", asked Josh. Geoff responded, "Well I was in Helheim assisting some of the Kurokage Troopers as they harvested some more lockseeds for the UFE when I got a call from Dan telling me to report to you immediately." Josh smiled and said, "Thanks for coming Geoff, your experience and power will provide us with a great advantage against the renegades". Geoff nodded and began to walk towards a seat, passing by Rose who stood up and grinned out of respect as he was her mentor, Kamen Rider Gaim. Geoffrey politely waved and gave Rose a nonverbal cue to be at ease. Entering the room next was Celina, Gabriel, and a young man with well-kept black hair and was of Puerto Rican descent. Josh glared towards Celina and said, "Where the Hell have you been, you were supposed to be here ten minutes ago?" Celina, clearly annoyed, answered, "Joshua, we finished making the plan an hour early so I think I am entitled to have a little free time to myself before I risk my life on this dangerous mission, now how about you do me a favor and get off my back!" "I'm sorry, can you repeat that, I wasn't listening", Josh joked while smiling. Matthew noticed the unknown black-haired man and yelled, "Who the Hell are you? Are you a new Rider?" The man stepped forward and stated, "My name is Ken and I am the user of the Kamen Rider Rey System. I look forward to working with you all". Jacob looked at Geoffrey and asked, "Rey? How come I've never heard of it?" Geoff explained, "Back during the early days of the council, as in before your time as a council member, we gave the go ahead for some private companies to begin creating Rider systems. Since these systems lacked the input of our scientists and have had many developmental setbacks, many people in the UFE see these systems as inferior and undeserving of the title Kamen Rider. Alternative Zero is one example and Rey is another." Jacob nodded in response and turned his head toward Ken, "So, Kamen Rider Rey, what exactly does your system entail?" Ken turned his head toward Celina who nodded at him with a smirk of approval on her face. "Rey Kivat", Ken called out and within seconds a mechanical white bat-like creature came flying into the room and said, " _ **Is it time to transform?**_ " Ken gave an affirmative nod and a sound began to loop that caught everyone's attention; however, that looping sound ended as Rey Kivat attached itself to Ken's belt by hanging upside down and yelling, " _ **Henshin!**_ " Suddenly a giant crystal snowflake appeared out of the belt, smashed onto Ken, and shattered reforming onto him as the Kamen Rider Rey armor. The armor was mostly white with gold and black trimmings. The helmet had blue eyes and a crown of gold and the arms had chains on them. The reactions around the table were of awe as Rey's armor was a mix of beauty and ferocity, the perfect combination for combative situations that Kamen Riders typically find themselves in. "Interesting", Jacob remarked, "the basis for your design is very similar to Kamen Rider Kiva". Jaco turned his head to Geoff and asked, "Is Kiva aware of this system?" Geoffrey shrugged and answered, "No idea. No one has seen Kiva or her sister since Femme died, so it's very possible that she is unaware of this".

Right when everyone regained their composure, Andrew and his roommate, Blake, entered the room. "Sorry we're late", said Blake as the young man went toward the seat across from Sean. As Andrew was walking towards the same seat to stand behind Blake, Josh grabbed Andrew's arm and asked, "What are you doing here? You were not assigned to this mission". Andrew turned his face toward Josh and responded, "Where's Dan?". Josh could tell by Andrew's face that he was angry and felt betrayed; however, rules were rules and Josh stated, "Andrew I am ordering you to leave". Andrew pulled his arm away from Josh and declared, "As a member of the Kamen Rider Council, I am authorizing my inclusion into this mission". Celina was annoyed, Andrew had become a Kamen Rider for a little less than a year and became a Council member a few weeks ago; furthermore, Andrew was a year younger than Celina, so hearing that someone younger and having less experience than her give an order irritated her. "You can't do that, Dan picked these Riders because of their abilities specifically, and last time I checked he was in charge". Sean spoke up suddenly stating, "I second Andrew's decision and I believe Geoff here does as well". The young Chinese man nodded in agreement but turned his head as the co-users for Kamen Rider Double argued against Andrew's declaration. "I agree with Celina and Josh", Caitlin stated as she turned her head to face Andrew and said, "I'm sorry Andrew but you don't have much experience, especially in the covert field". Natalie continued Caitlin's point by saying, "In fact, the little experience you had in covert scenarios, such as attempting to capture Kamen Riders KickHopper and PunchHopper, resulted in chaotic fight in a public environment". Jacob spoke up, "I agree with Double, sorry man". Celina looked annoyed and sarcastically said, "Well this is just great, a tie, now we have to wait for Dan to give his vote on the matter". "No, we don't", Geoffrey stated, "Caitlin and Natalie's votes separately are only worth a half because they are the two halves needed to become Kamen Rider Double, so the results are 3 to 2 in favor of Andrew". The victorious man gave a coy smile to Josh and Celina and walked behind Blake and stood there.

A minute later Dan walked in, gave a quick look around the room, and went over towards Josh and Celina. "Where's Sasword?", Dan asked. "I asked him to go on patrol around the campus to ensure we don't have any more Riders go renegade and leaving without our permission. Don't worry though, he knows the plan", Josh answered. Dan shook his head and noticed that Josh kept looking at the door. "Are you ready to go so soon", Dan inquired with a hint of laughter in his tone. Josh gave a slight chuckle and said, "What, no, I'm just wondering where the other Advent Riders are". Dan then asked, "Did you two not receive my email, I and the other Advent Riders have an event to attend". Josh and Celina both looked at each other and were a little angry at Dan for pulling such a stunt because now they are short 5 Riders for the mission. Celina was the first to speak after this revelation, "Sir, one of the strong elements of the plan we created was to utilize the fact that these 5 Riders could enter the Mirror World and quickly grab onto Jason before he transforms into Kabuto". Dan looked unphased with that sentence and stated, "Well, now you'll have to improvise, if you want I can authorize a few more Riders to fill in their places like Todoroki, Ibuki, and/or Delta". Celina visibly rolled her eyes which elicited a loud, "Hey!", from Dan, gathering everyone's attention. "When I am in this room, I will be given the utmost respect, I don't care who you are!", Dan stated loudly. Gabriel stood up and offered an optimistic idea, "Don't worry guys, I can enter the Mirror World just like the other Advent Riders and, with my Accele Vent, quickly apprehend Jason faster than any of the other Advent Riders". Although a good plan indeed, the wording was terrible, which Gabriel soon found out as Dan slowly turned his head to look at the outspoken man and said coldly, "One, you will only speak when spoken to. Two, any one of the 13 Advent Riders, which includes myself, could kill you in a one on one fight, so do not discredit us. And three, if you act this way again I will destroy your "deck", do you understand". Gabriel responded with a glare and took his seat. Dan turned and looked at Kamen Rider Rey, who was still in his armor. "Ken", Dan said, "take off that armor, no one likes a show off". Rey Kivat unhinged itself from Ken's belt and hanged upside down on the ceiling, leaving Ken back to his normal human self. "Now then…", Dan began but soon paused as he noticed Andrew sitting next to Blake. With angry wide eyes, Dan yelled, "What the Hell are you doing here Build!". Andrew gave a dry smile and responded, "Oh, you just missed it, you see, I declared myself a part of this mission with the authority of being on the Council. We even had a vote, just ask Double, Ghost, Gaim, and OOO". Dan knew that if he continued yelling and making a scene the other Kamen Riders would see him as unfit to handle the leadership position the Supreme Council bestowed upon him; so, the young man regained his composure and asked calmly, "Andrew, can I speak to you outside for a minute". "Sure", Andrew began, "but I have a few questions to ask first before we have our little chat". Sean and Geoffrey glanced at each other, both immediately regretting voting for him to be a part of the mission. Andrew pulled out from his fleece jacket the three documents that permitted Blake to participate in the mission, including the one with the forged signature. "Everyone", Andrew spoke loudly, "this is a set of documents that you are all familiar with, but you see there is one problem". Without wasting any time, Andrew picked up the document with the forgery and walked up to Dan and stated, "I did not sign this paper, someone has forged my signature, and I have an idea of who it might have been". Dan gave a fake smile and said, "I would be very careful of what you are suggesting Andrew". In response, Andrew gave a chuckle, turned around, and began walking back to his seat but not before noticing two pairs of eyes staring him down. One pair belonged to Lauren, whose gaze suggested that she enjoyed that Andrew confronted Dan. The other pair, however, belonged to Rose, whose gaze was cold and serious, which frightened Andrew a little bit. As Andrew made it back to his seat, he remained standing and declared, "Regardless of whether that is my signature or not, I am not permitting Blake to participate in this mission". Blake stood up to join Andrew in leaving the room when suddenly Dan yelled, "Verde!". In what felt like two seconds, Andrew found himself kicked in the gut and sliding across the ground and Blake was pushed to the ground by an invisible hand. As Blake got back on his feet, he saw Kamen Rider Verde in his chameleon inspired armor looking at Andrew's semi-conscious body on the floor. Blake's face presented a smile and he stated, "You know what, I was getting real tired of this place. Come, Cross-Z Dragon!". Flying through the door was a blue and orange mechanical dragon that acted as a slot adaptor for Blake's very own Build Driver. Rey Kivat attempted to attack Cross-Z Dragon, but the small dragon was able to outmaneuver the clunky white bat and landed in Blake's hand. From within his fleece jacket, Blake pulled out the Dragon Fullbottle, inserted it into Cross-Z Dragon, and turned the lever of his Build Driver.

 _ **WAKE UP! CROSS-Z DRAGON! ARE YOU READY? WAKE UP BURNING! GET CROSS-Z DRAGON! YEAH!**_

Now, standing before everyone in the Mission Control Center stood two Kamen Riders, Verde and Cross-Z.


	11. Episode 9

The transformation of Blake to Kamen Rider Cross-Z took a total of 8 seconds to complete leaving the man encased in a mostly dark blue armor with a distinctive dragon motif. The left gauntlet of the armor had an orange flame design, the same going for the vest on its torso, which contrasts with the right gauntlet and pants being both black and blue. Many of the other Kamen Riders in the room remained seated, each one of them in shock of the sudden transformation indicating Blake's decision to rebel against the UFE. Dan stood firm and unphased and merely turned his head towards Rose and stated, "Rose assist Tyler in apprehending Cross-Z". Rose nodded, attached her Sengoku Driver to her waist, pulled out her Melon Lockseed, and pressed the switch on its side to unlock it. Once unlocked, the Melon Lockseed announced, " _ **MELON!**_ ", and an unzipping sound occurred above Rose's head with a metallic melon-shaped object descending from where the sound came from. Rose quickly attached the Sengoku Driver to her waist and locked the Melon Lockseed into its respective position on the driver, which elicited the belt to yell " _ **LOCK ON!**_ " Rose then slammed the Cutting Blade across the lockseed.

 _ **SOIYA! MELON ARMS: TENKA GOMEN!**_

The melon-shaped object above Rose then slammed onto her head and in an instant, she was covered in white armor with black scale designs on her upper arms and below her knees. Within the giant melon, Rose's head became covered with a white helmet with a golden crest above its eyes. The melon then opened and became green armor that covered Rose's chest, shoulders, and the top of her back. Rose then held up her hand which generated the Melon Defender, a shield inspired by the melon fruit, and pulled out her Musou Saber.

Everyone's attention fell upon the ensuing conflict occurring amongst the three transformed Kamen Riders. Both Kamen Riders Verde and Zangestsu focused on Cross-Z, leaving Andrew unwatched. While remaining on the floor, Andrew took the time to notice the reactions and expressions of everyone who remained seated amidst the growing chaos. Some of them wanted to assist Verde and Zangetsu against the newly pronounced traitor, whereas some of the others were uncertain of the best course of action for them to take. Dan took a moment to strategize on the smartest way to apprehend Cross-Z; he knew a huge display of force could tempt some of the other Riders to sympathize with the traitor and rally more to Jason's cause, but he was also aware that if he simply forgave Cross-Z for his actions he, as a leader, would appear weak. Dan lifted his head and stated, "Geoffrey stay with Rose and Tyler and help them if things get out of hand". Dan then turned his head to Andrew and said, "I am willing to forgive your insubordination if you assist in the apprehension of your comrade". Andrew turned his head away from Dan and said nothing. Dan's response was a slight chuckle followed by, "Everyone in the room not participating in this mess leave and follow lockdown procedures". Quickly, everyone minus the 5 Riders in combat ran out of the Mission Control Center. As Josh and Celina were leaving, Dan grabbed onto their arms and ordered, "Josh, get into contact with Sasword and your Shadow unit to surround the compound. Celina, get the rest of your 3WA and 5 dozen Riottroopers outside to join Josh". Both Riders nodded and ran off to accomplish their objectives.

When most of the Riders left the room, Geoffrey ran over to Andrew and offered him an arm to pull him up. Andrew accepted the gesture and was pulled up, but Geoffrey could tell by the look on his face that a simple conversation would not be enough to change Andrew's mind. "I can't control your actions", Geoffrey stated, "but I am asking you to be very careful, because if you go against us, there is no coming back". When Geoffrey finished his statement, he pulled up a chair and took a seat. Chills were felt down Andrew's spine; "Geoff always seemed like an easy-going kind of guy. I guess in a time of conflict, we all show our true colors", he thought to himself. Meanwhile, Kamen Rider Cross-Z held out his hand which summoned his Beat Closer and took a defensive position. Verde simply took the Clear Vent advent card from his advent deck and slipped it into the card reading visor on his left thigh. Once inserted into the visor, the visor itself shouted, " _ **CLEAR VENT!**_ ", and Kamen Rider Verde seemingly vanished without a trace. Cross-Z was stunned at first but remained focused, thinking to himself, "Verde's armor looks like a chameleon, which means that he must have some of the animal's properties, like blending in with the environment". Kamen Rider Zangetsu took this moment to take advantage of Cross-Z's moment of confusion and began to slash her saber across his chest; however, before the Musou Saber contacted its target, it was blocked by a light blue bow with a lime green train inside of it. Zangetsu turned her head to face the direction where the intercept originated and became temporarily deafened by Kamen Rider Build's driver's announcement sound.

 _ **TEIKOKU NO HANGYAKUSHA! KAIZOKURESSYA! YEAHHH!**_

Not wasting a moment of Zangetsu being caught off-guard, Build slammed the side of her stomach with his left arm containing the Train Gauntlet, causing her to stumble backwards for 10 inches. "Thanks for the save", Cross-Z said gratefully. Build responded, "No problem, but right now we need to get out of here now. Um…where's Verde?" The dragon-inspired rider began to spin in a circle saying, "I think he's hiding, waiting for the best moment to atta…" Cross-Z then dropped his weapon, grabbed his throat, and made choking noises. "Blake!", Build yelled but he soon found himself smacked on the side of the head by Zangetsu's Melon Defender. "This may seem a little late", Zangetsu began, "but you're under arrest". Cross-Z, knowing that if he kept getting choked he would surely pass out, decided to make the educated guess that Verde's hand was encasing his neck and managed to grab it and pull it over his head, flipping the invisible rider onto the floor. As Verde gradually became more visible he leapt into the air, landed on his feet, and pulled out another advent card to put into his visor. " _ **HOLD VENT!**_ ", the visor yelled as Kamen Rider Verde's weapon of choice, the Bio-Winder, came out of Mirror world and into his hand. Verde, however, was the least of Cross-Z's problems as he now saw that Build was in danger. With a few turns of his driver's lever, Kamen Rider Cross-Z prepared his finisher.

 _ **READY, GO! DRACONIC FINISH! YEAHHH!**_

A Chinese dragon made up of blue energy coats Cross-Z's right hand as he prepares to attack Zangestsu with a Rider Punch. Zangetsu quickly holds her Melon Defender in front of her and turns to face Cross-Z. Kamen Rider Cross-Z then runs toward Zangetsu, leaps forward, and lands the punch on her shield. The impact of such a punch, not only sent her flying back a few feet, but also rendered her unconscious and back into her normal human form.

At that point, Geoffrey ran over to Rose to try and wake her up, but when he failed to do so he decided that he had seen enough. The young man rose from his seat and pulled out a rather large orange lockseed and pressed the switch on its side, " _ **KACHIDOKI!**_ ". Both renegade Riders turned to face Geoffrey as he attached the Kachidoki lockseed to his Sengoku Driver and sliced the cutting blade.

 _ **LOCK ON! SOIYA! KACHIDOKI ARMS: IZU SHUTSUJIN! EI! EI! OH!**_

Kamen Riders Build and Cross-Z now stood before Kamen Rider Gaim in one of his most powerful forms, Kachidoki Arms. "You're done!", Gaim yelled as he pulled out the two Kachidoki Flags from his back. Acting out of pure adrenaline and the pure excitement from the situation at hand, Kamen Rider Cross-Z picked up his Beat Closer and charged at Gaim. Unfortunately for Cross-Z, Verde managed to swing his Bio-Winder across both of his legs, tangling Cross-Z and causing him to fall. As Build was taking in his surroundings, he realized that both he and Cross-Z could not beat the two other Riders in one-on-one fights. The best option for the duo was to escape the Mission Control Center and lock Gaim, Verde, and Rose inside. While trying to dodge each of Gaim's attacks, Build kept getting distracted by Cross-Z's screams, which were caused by Kamen Rider Verde whipping his Bio-Winder across his back. Acting quickly, Build turned his body to face the screams and aimed his Kaizoku Hassyar (the bow with the green train) at Verde and pulled back the Build Arrow (the green train). The announcements for the finisher began, " _ **KAKUEKI DENSYA! KYUUKOU DENSYA!**_ " but was suddenly cut off as Gaim kicked Build right in the middle of his back. Fortunately, the charge of the Kaizoku Hassyar was enough to fire three balls of energy, two of which landed successfully on Verde. The amount of strain brought on by the conflict in the Mission Control Center weakened Verde to the point where he returned to his human form. Tyler then fell to his knees and landed in a state of unconsciousness. Cross-Z leapt back on his feet, picked up his Beat Closer, and stood next to Build. "Okay, what's next?", asked Cross-Z. Before Build could respond, Gaim pulled out his DJ Gun and said, "This is what's next". Gaim turned the dial on the gun to the low setting, causing the music playing from the DJ Gun to be slowed down. The Kamen Rider loyal to the UFE then took a shot at the two riders who were standing side by side. Since the setting of the DJ Gun was on low, the shots from it were cannon-like, which caused the armor on Kamen Riders Build and Cross-Z to be inflicted heavily with damage. By some miracle, the two renegades remained conscious and in their armored forms. Cross-Z landed next to Tyler and Build next to Rose, causing Gaim to hesitate shooting his weapon out of fear of hurting his friends. Both Build and Cross-Z took note of this and remained standing in their current positions. "Move Dammit", Gaim thought to himself. Suddenly, Build moved his Kaizoku Hassyar in front of him as if to use it, and Gaim, knowing that it is dangerous to fire back, dropped his DJ Gun and prepared to pull out his own Musou Saber to deflect the predicted blast. However, it was all part of Build's trap. As soon as Gaim dropped his gun, Cross-Z performed a front flip over Gaim's head and landed by the entrance/exit to the Mission Control Center. Build followed by performing a side roll to get closer to the door and swiped his Kaizoku Hassyar across Gaim's legs, knocking him to the floor. Quickly, Build exited the room and Cross-Z followed, but not before activating the door to close and smashing the control panel, leaving Gaim locked in the room with the other unconscious riders.


	12. Episode 10

Due to the commotion of the battle, neither Kamen Rider Build nor Cross-Z heard the blaring sirens going off around the compound. Build turned to Cross-Z and said, "Well, this will be fun", his smirk being concealed by his helmet. "Indeed", responded Cross-Z. To their left, the two riders heard a stampede of different soldier-based Kamen Riders heading toward them. The duo ran to the opposite end of the hallway and made a left with their backs across the wall. As Build looked carefully from the side of the wall he saw a Kurokage trooper running to the door of the Mission Control Center; and once he arrived, more followed. "This is where Zangetsu's signal was emanating from before it cut out", the trooper stated before trying to open the door. A second Kurokage trooper, noticing that the first one's attempts at opening the door were failing, mentioned, "The door is probably either jammed or sabotaged. Stand back, I'll give it a _Sparking_ ". As the second trooper prepared to use his cutting blade to slice his pinecone-based lockseed, the first put his hand up and commanded, "Wait!" The second trooper, clearly displeased, said distastefully, "What?". "Do you guys hear that", said the first trooper as he put his head toward the door. Unbeknownst to the Kurokage troopers outside the Mission Control Center, Kamen Rider Gaim was preparing a powerful blast from his DJ Gun which utilized the full power of the Kachidoki lockseed; and what they were hearing was the standby music for it. The trooper who was listening knew exactly what it was and yelled, "Get back now!". The troopers dispersed quickly and were silent until they heard the sound they were waiting for, " _ **KACHIDOKI CHARGE!**_ ". The door to the Mission Control Center blew open and slammed on the wall across from the room. Out of the smoke came Kamen Rider Gaim who was exiting the room. The Kurokage troopers went over to Gaim and asked, "Kamen Rider Gaim, are you okay? Is Zangetsu okay? What happened?" Gaim held up his hand and stated, "One, I am fine. Two, Zangetsu is fine but unconscious. And Three, where are Build and Cross-Z?" By that point in time, Build and Cross-Z had decided to stop watching and began attempting to navigate the safest way out of the base.

"Blake", Build said as the two riders ran into one of the learning centers on the base, "You should deactivate your armor and get out of here. I'll distract the others, so you can make your escape". Cross-Z turned to face Build and replied, "No, I'm not leaving you. You had my back and you are my friend. Also, why should I take off my armor?". Build picked up two desks, one in each hand, barricaded the door with them and stated, "After Kabuto defected, Dan and the executive branch of the UFE decided it would be best to put trackers in all of the Kamen Rider armors, so that if another rider defected they can be tracked". Cross-Z looked down at his belt and pulled out the Cross-Z Dragon from the driver and transformed back into Blake. Blake then removed the dragon fullbottle from Cross-Z Dragon and let it leave his hand and fly out the window. "However", Build began as he went towards the windows to close their blinds, "Kabuto and the other renegades have found a way to deactivate these trackers, so I'm sure you'll find a way to do so as well". Blake looked up at Build confused, "Are you saying I should join Kabuto and the rest of the traitors?". Build shook his head in a negative fashion, "No. What I am saying is that if he could deactivate the tracker, so can you". Blake nodded but remained firm in his belief that both he and Build should stick together. "Okay, so then why don't you take off your armor and we can leave together? We clearly work well together, as evidenced by our success at getting around Gaim", Blake suggested. Seeing that Blake was not getting the big picture, Build pushed him against a wall and whispered, "Do not ever think that as of this point in time you are strong enough to take down a council member. We are extremely lucky that we even survived that disaster. Now listen carefully. The reason I remain in this armor is so that I can lead them away from you; my value as a defecting council member is much higher than a Class 2 Kamen Rider like you". "Oh", Blake murmured, realizing that Build's plan was well thought out. "But, Andrew, if they can track your armor, how haven't they found us yet?", asked Blake. Build then took a step back and realized that Blake brought up a good point and responded, "I'm not sure but nevertheless you need to get out of here now". Right when Build finished his sentence, he looked out the tiny square window on the door to see if the coast was clear, pushed the desks he stacked aside, opened the door, and gently threw Blake out of the room.

Just as quickly as Blake was thrown out of the room was the door quickly shut and barricaded once again as Blake heard Build moving the desks behind the door. The young man began running down empty corridor after empty corridor, doing his best to remain out of sight of patrolling Kurokage troopers, Riottroopers, and ZECT troopers. As Blake was about to turn the corner of the seventh hallway he found himself in, he felt two arms grab his fleece jacket and hold him against the wall. Quickly recovering from being dazed by the impact, Blake recognized the individual holding him as Lauren, Kamen Rider Fuma. "What in the hell are you two doing? Did Jason send you?", Lauren whispered, albeit in an angry enough tone that could be construed as yelling. Blake, confused by the barrage of the questions, responded, "What? No, Andrew and I made this decision on our own". Lauren glared at the young man and looked toward the hallway and asked, "So, where is Andrew?". "Why should I tell you? We are trying to escape you know?", responded Blake. "And I know you well enough to know that you have no idea where you're going", Lauren stated with a grin and comedic inflection in her voice. Blake frowned, "How do I know I can trust you?". The young woman tilted her head and responded, "Great question, you first". Deciding that the best possible outcome for him would be to confide in Lauren, Blake told her, "Andrew is hoping to create a distraction and get the other riders' attention via having them follow the tracker in his armor". Lauren, content that Blake seemingly trusts her, let go of him and said, "That plan isn't going to work, I sabotaged the computer system specified to the trackers in our suits". Blake, surprised by her knowledge of the trackers, asked Lauren, "How do you know about the trackers? I just learned about them like 7 minutes ago". Noticing that Blake, unbeknownst to even himself, had raised his voice, Lauren quietly told him, "Keep your voice down! And, to answer your question, Jason expected that Dan would put trackers on us because that's what he would've done; so, he told me about it and sure enough I found the system". "Wait! You're with Jason?", Blake accused. Lauren responded, "Uh yeah, Dan has clearly lost his marbles and is acting way out of character". Blake defended, "Well, duh, he lost his fiancé. I'm sure if you lost someone you loved, you'd be acting differently". "I concede to that, but that gives no excuse for his behavior, like ordering Verde to attack both you and Andrew. Now do you want to get out of here or not?", retorted the woman. Blake leaned his back against the wall, rested his hand by his chin, and began thinking. Upon hearing the incoming footsteps of soldier-based Riders, the young man quickly concluded his thinking and told Lauren, "Okay, let's go". Lauren smiled, grabbed onto Blake's arm, and the two began running down the hall.

"Um, where exactly are we going?", Blake asked as both he and Lauren had spent the last 6 minutes navigating the base. Lauren, whose back was now against a wall, signaled for Blake to join her and responded, "Before we leave I have to get something from the armory". "Wait!", Blake began, "Why didn't you mention that earlier? Last time I checked I don't have the luxury of making pit stops". Looking down the hall and at the entrance to a hanger, Lauren began walking forward and quietly said, "Jason needs me to grab something for another Rider; so, stay close and be quiet, we have to go through the Special Containment Hanger". As the two Kamen Riders crept their way into the hanger, a confused expression appeared on Blake's face. As the young man looked around, he saw a redesigned and renovated airplane hanger that no longer supported the expediting of aircrafts or other vehicles. Furthermore, Blake saw at the far end of the hanger two containment pods, both tilted at 45-degree angles, that contained what he thought to be criminals. "Where are the rest of the criminals?", whispered Blake. Lauren whispered back, "As I said before, this is the Special Containment Hanger, not the normal Containment Hanger. This place is for those who are so dangerous they have to be cryogenically frozen". Before the duo could begin to cut through the hanger to get to the armory, they heard two distinct voices coming towards them. "When did they find _him_ Odin?", asked one voice. The other voice, which belongs to the man named Odin, responded, "Last week Kamen Rider Snipe mentioned how he felt something calling to him; so, he and Kamen Rider Zolda travelled to the source of the calling, Antarctica. Once the two of them landed, they stated that the ground beneath their feet began to shake and a green light reached out to the sky from the cracks in the ground. And then, _he_ appeared". By this point in the conversation, both Blake and Lauren could see the two men clearly; they were the two known gods to exist in the world, Odin and Poseidon. Both gods were clad in their Kamen Rider armors, Odin in his phoenix-based advent Rider armor and Poseidon in his sea creature inspired armor derived from the power of the Same, Kujira, and Ookamiuo core medals. The two gods surrounded one of the containment pods and had their backs turned away from the two UFE traitors behind them. Lauren leaned by Blake's ear and whispered, "Okay we have to be very careful, so I suggest you stay here and out of sight while I grab what I need from the armory". Before Blake could give a response that would counter Lauren's idea, Kamen Rider Poseidon turned toward them and stated, "You do know that we can hear you mortals, tis the gift of being omniscient?". Lauren, realizing that the best way to get around this predicament was to appeal to the gods' sense of nobility, revealed herself and bowed before them. Blake soon followed; however, upon noticing the Kamen Rider Odin was one of the 13 Advent Riders, put his hands behind his head as he kneeled to the ground. The Advent Rider gave a loud chuckle and motioned with his hand for them to rise. "I would say that based on the young man's demeanor that you two are in trouble", Odin remarked. Lauren quickly responded, "Yes, your lordship. We humbly request that you do not reveal our location to the others". Poseidon stepped forward, "Relax mortals, we only serve ourselves. Not the whims of a man who has lost his love". Blake began bowing repeatedly in a ridiculous fashion, saying, "Oh thank you so much! Thank you! Thank you!". Both gods began to laugh hysterically from Blake's demonstration of immense gratitude. After the two deities calmed down, Odin asked, "Although I appreciate a good laugh, it is time we ask you a serious question. How much did you hear of our conversation?". "Just a little bit…", Lauren began to lie but soon cut herself of as she looked at the other containment tube. Blake followed Lauren's eyes and went to the tube and began to wipe away the condensation from the outside of the tube. As Lauren joined his side, Blake's eyes widened with shock and he yelled, "That's Kuuga! They froze Kuuga!". Lauren turned to face Odin and Poseidon and asked, "Why?". Odin began, "The idea of freezing Kuuga belonged to Dan, and after Kuuga's 'outburst', I can't say I blame him". After remembering the event that Odin was referring to, the young woman conceded and nodded. Poseidon chimed in and stated, "I suggest you two get where your trying to go, I can sense others coming this way". Both mortals nodded and left through the other door in the hanger that led directly to the armory.

As the two Riders made their way to the armory, the repercussions of their actions began to dawn on them as more sirens were activated. "Not to be rude, but could we maybe hurry this up, I actually want to be able to hear things when we escape", remarked Blake. Lauren responded by rolling her eyes and sprinting down the path to the armory; Blake quickly followed. Once the duo entered the armory, they were both blown away by the amount of weaponry and technology encompassing the room. "Okay, so what exactly are we looking for?", inquired Blake. Lauren answered, "What Jason is looking for is the Peach Energy Lockseed and a Genesis Driver". An overexaggerated laugh caught the two Riders off guard as they turned around to see a young Filipino man in a wheel chair slowly rolling up to them. "You know, I was wondering why Aisha left here without her destined driver", stated the young man. Lauren's mouth dropped as she realized who the man was, "Jed?", she asked, "Is that you?". Jed nodded the affirmative. Blake's eyes widened as he asked, "Jed? As in Kamen Rider Decade? That Jed?". Jed nodded again and said, "Yep, it is I, and I'm guessing by the looks of shock, horror, and sorrow on your faces that you had no idea of my condition". Lauren answered, "I heard that you were injured, but I didn't know that it was this bad". Jed moved closer to Lauren and Blake and explained, "During the _incident_ , I was struck in the back pretty hard and when I regained consciousness I could barely feel my legs. The doctors say there is hope that I can regain the use of my legs fully, but I'm not sure". Blake had a confused expression on his face and said, "Hold on a second! I saw you last week and you seemed fine then". Jed smiled and stated, "Sometimes when I'm in my armor I gain back a decent amount of control in my legs, but only for a few minutes. Other times, I ask Kamen Rider Build to use his Legend Rider Fullbottles to disguise himself as me for longer periods of time. Surprisingly, many people don't look at the driver of a Kamen Rider". Blake understood and nodded in response. "Anyway", said Jed with a smile, "it seems you two are running away and, from what I can tell, Dan is pretty pissed off right now". Lauren became serious, "Look Jed, I know you don't owe us anything…". Before Lauren could finish her request, the man in the wheelchair held up his hand to silence her and stated, "Just get the driver and lockseed and get out of here". Both Blake and Lauren smiled in response. Lauren turned to Blake and asked, "I think I see them over there, can you get them I have to ask Jed something?". Blake responded by walking over to where she pointed. A surprised look came upon Jed's face, "What question do you have for me Lauren?". "I'm actually not sure", Lauren retorted and pulled out an envelope, "Jason told me to keep it sealed in here in case this event happened, and I could find you". Jed took the envelope, opened it, and began to read. The young man's smile faded, and he took the letter and tore it up. "When you see Jason, tell him I say 'yes'". Lauren nodded and bowed. Blake came back with the lockseed and driver and the two left the armory, each waving goodbye to Jed.


	13. Episode 11

As Lauren and Blake were exiting the armory, they both had failed to notice the immense precautions the UFE facility they were on had undertaken to prevent their escape. Every hallway the duo went down ended with a large black door, forcing them to go down a certain path. "This is smart", Lauren remarked, "They're forcing us outside the main entrance". Blake looked confused and said, "Isn't that a bit counterintuitive?" Lauren remained quiet as the two Riders entered another hallway, peeking after every corner they encountered. The hallways of the UFE base were nothing spectacular, having no decorations and a constant steel-grey color. Each hall had at least two doors on each of its sides that led to other rooms. Unfortunately, just as Blake and Lauren were about to enter the next hallway, two giant black doors came crashing down at both ends of the hall. Out of each of the doors in the hallway came 4 squads of Riotroopers, each squad comprised of 5 troopers. Blake and Lauren now stood back-to-back in the middle of the hallway, both knowing that the only way out of this was to fight these trained soldiers. "Hey Blake, I think it's time you show these punks some dragon power", said Lauren. Blake shook his head, "You know, I would love to help, but…". Lauren's face grew annoyed, "But what?", said she. "I may have sent it outside for me to call upon it later and, from where we are standing, there are no windows. I think this one is all on you". A slight chuckle escaped from the young woman's mouth as she pulled out her green Gamer Driver and attached it to her waist. Before she could make another movement, a Riotrooper lunged forward with his Axel Ray Gun (in blade mode), which Lauren quickly countered by moving to the side, grabbing his wrist, and kicking him in the stomach. Lauren then revealed her Hurricane Ninja Gashat and pressed the button to the right of the gashat's cartridge, which elicited the announcement, " _ **HURRICANE NINJA!**_ " The young woman then slammed the gashat into the first port of the Gamer Driver, causing the voice of the driver to say, " _ **GASHAT!**_ " Finally, Lauren pulled on the Actuation Lever and begun the transformation.

 _ **GACHAN! LEVEL UP! MAKIMAKI! TATSUMAKI! HURRICANE NINJA!**_

Once he heard the transformation conclude, Blake turned around to get a good look at Kamen Rider Fuma. Where the young woman once stood is now an armored figure with spikey white hair on the helmet, piercing yellow-orange eyes, dark navy pants and shoulder pads, a white tunic with hexagon patterns, and black gloves and boots with orange trimming. "Whoa", Blake remarked, forgetting momentarily the amount of danger the two were in. Fuma made a run for the first Riotrooper in front of her, grabbed the poor soul and gave him a high kick in the stomach. The impact of the kick sent the soldier directly to the ceiling and damaged the lighting system, so now only half of the lights were on in the hallway. "This is what I'm talking about", Fuma stated with glee as she turned to face Blake. The armor-less Rider attempted to be of help as his fist contacted a trooper's chest-plate; however, the attack was futile as Blake ended up doing more damage to his own hand. Although Blake could not see it, Fuma rolled her eyes in annoyance as she now saw how utterly useless the young man was in this situation; that is until she had an idea. In a flash of quick speed and acrobatics, Kamen Rider Fuma made it right next to Blake and said, "I have an idea, do you trust me?" The young man responded, "Do I have a choice?" Fuma cocked her head, being annoyed once again, and touched the center of Blake's chest. After approximately two seconds, blue pixels, not dissimilar from the ones Lauren had when transforming into Fuma, quickly encompassed the man as another type of armor began to generate around his body. Once the blue pixels ceased, Blake assumed that his new metamorphosis had ended and looked down at his new form. The suit Blake was now wearing was identical to that of Kamen Rider Fuma's albeit having a helmet with only one big orange-brown eye in the center and a black bandana on the very top. Blake was very confused and asked, "Uh, what did you do to me?" Fuma responded, "I helped you out, you're welcome. Now, I need you to fire a shuriken at that light above us". Not wanting to waste any more time (but still confused), Blake began padding himself down to look for a shuriken but couldn't find one. "Hey Lauren", Blake began, "I think you gave me the armor without the shuriken". "No, you idiot! It is an energy-based shuriken, so just think of shooting it at the light and it should work", Fuma retorted. The man looked at his hands and rubbed his right palm on top of his left palm which, to his surprise, sent out a light-blue digital shuriken towards the Riotrooper in front of him. The Riotrooper soon found himself flying backwards into 3 other troopers. "Whoa", said Blake with glee, "This is awesome!" Still irritated, the ninja-based Kamen Rider replied, "Blake! The light now!" Blake looked up, rubbed his palms together, and sent out a shuriken toward the light. The light quickly went out as the glass holding the electricity shattered and fell to the floor. Now in pitch black darkness, Blake could only rely on his sense of hearing, which was picking up grunts and thumps coming from all different directions. Five seconds after the sounds began, they suddenly stopped. A red emergency back-up light came on from the ceiling, illuminating the room which now contained the unconscious bodies of twenty Riotroopers. Blake looked up from the ground to see a standing Fuma breathing heavily. "Are you alright?", Blake inquired. Kamen Rider Fuma merely signaled with her index finger for Blake to come closer, to which he did. The female Rider then put her hand against Blake's chest, causing the armor around him to turn back into blue pixels and flow into Fuma. The breathing of Fuma's immediately stabilized and she remarked, "That's better", as she walked to the large door obstructing the duo's path. "So…", Blake began, "what exactly was that?" Whilst examining the door, the female Rider responded, "One of the benefits of the Hurricane Ninja Gashat is that I can summon what I call 'Ninja-Players' to assist me when needed. However, since we were in this small, crowded space I couldn't find a could place for them to spawn so I figured I could try to put the armor on you. Thankfully, it worked". Blake's eyes widened with fear and distrust, "What do you mean 'thankfully, it worked'? Are you saying that I was your little lab rat for this experiment?" Kamen Rider Fuma remained silent as she found the bottom edges of the door, put her fingers to it, and lifted. Thanks to the enhanced strength the armor provides, Fuma was able to lift the door just a little over her 5'4" frame which allowed her to peak into the next hallway. Displeased with what she saw, Fuma lowered the door back down and cursed under her breath. "What's wrong?", Blake inquired. "The hallway past this door has another door just like this one on the end of it. I think the best course of action would be to go through one of these doors the troopers came out of and hope for the best", stated the Kamen Rider. Blake thought for a moment and said, "Alright. Suit me up". Fuma shook her head and stated, "No need", as she snapped her gloved fingers, summoning three Ninja-Players next to her. "They can handle the combat for us".

By sprinting down the unobstructed corridors, both Blake and Kamen Rider Fuma were able to make it to the last hallway before the main exit in three minutes. Any conflict the duo encountered was dealt with by Fuma's Ninja-Players, which merged back with her once each skirmish was resolved. Now at full strength, Fuma reached for the dual kodachi blades that were attached to her back and walked slowly toward the exit with Blake following close behind. "The minute we get outside, summon your Cross-Z Dragon immediately", Fuma commanded. Blake responded, "I was going to do that anyway". Upon going through the exit door, the two were surprised to find that no one was outside waiting for them. And, to her displeasure, Fuma noted that the sirens were off; in fact, they had been off for the past two minutes. "Blake!", Fuma yelled loudly, "Transform no…!" Cut off by a quick slash to the back, Fuma launched forward landing face-first on the asphalt-covered ground. Turning his head to look at his comrade, Blake mistakenly created an opening for another Kamen Rider to attack him; or, in this case, another Kamen Rider's dragon. Dragreder, Kamen Rider Ryuki's red mechanical Japanese dragon, launched a barrage of fire from its mouth in Blake's vicinity. Feeling the heat of the fire, Blake did the most sensible thing every child learns when caught on fire: stop, drop, and roll. As both Blake and Fuma regained their footing to look at their attackers, Ryuki states, "It's over you two. I do not think it is in any of your best interests to fight back, because if you do, you will lose". The announcement voice of the ZECT Riders yells, " _ **CLOCK OVER!**_ ", as Kamen Rider Sasword returns to perceivable levels of speed and stands next to Ryuki. Fuma, still recuperating from the first attack, slowly turns to face the red-clad Kamen Rider and retorts, "Dan, look at yourself. You were never this imposing or threatening years ago. What happened to you? Do you think Annie, your fiancée, would approve of your actions?" Blake's eyes widen, shocked by Fuma's taunt, and watch as Ryuki's fist clenches in a futile attempt to control his anger. Sasword, wanting to avoid any form of heavy conflict, puts his violet-clad violet hand on Ryuki's right shoulder and says, "She's just trying to get to you Dan, we can avoid bloodshed if we all remain calm". Ryuki pushes the scorpion-based ZECT Rider's hand off his shoulder and pulls out the Sword Vent card from his Advent Deck. Kamen Rider Ryuki takes the Advent Card, slides it into the Drag Visor located on his left forearm, and pulls up on the visor which intiates the effect as well as the voice, " _ **SWORD VENT!**_ ". In an instant, Dragreder's tail removes itself from his body and flies over to Ryuki's right hand. The contract monster then flies into Mirror World, awaiting the next command from his master. The "Dragon Knight" turns his head toward Sasword and orders, "Immobilize Fuma, I'll deal with Cross-Z". With that command, the violet Rider begins walking toward Fuma and holds his sword in a position that grants him a higher defense than offence. "Stay down Lauren", Sasword recommends, "I don't want anyone to get hurt". Fuma lets out a chuckle and retorts, "It's a little too late for that Shawn (not to be confused with Sean/Kamen Rider OOO)". The ninja-based Rider performs a backflip, landing successfully behind Sasword, and, using her dual kodachi blades, slices the back of his armor. "Hurts, doesn't it!", Fuma yells to Sasword as he now falls to the ground face-first. Meanwhile, Blake, seeing Ryuki charging toward him, holds his hand up to the sky and screams, "Cross-Z Dragon, I need you now!" Almost immediately, the small mechanical blue dragon that Blake uses to transform flies down and lands in the young man's palm. Without a moment to lose, Blake inserts the Dragon Fullbottle into the slot on the dragon, triggering the " _ **WAKE UP!**_ " announcement. Blake loads the dragon into his Build Driver and turns the lever.

 _ **CROSS-Z DRAGON! ARE YOU READY? WAKE UP BURNING! GET CROSS-Z DRAGON! YEAH!**_

Now armed and ready for battle, Kamen Rider Cross-Z summons his Beat Closer and charges toward Ryuki, resulting in the clashing of their blades. "I guess I should probably tell you", Cross-Z remarks, "I resign from the UFE". Ryuki laughes and responds, "Oh you idiotic fool, you will wish that it was that simple", as the red-clad Rider thrusts his Drag Saber up, causing Cross-Z's arms to momentarily follow and thereby create an opening. With no mercy, Kamen Rider Ryuki slashes Cross-Z across his chest and kicks him in the stomach, sending the blue dragon-based Rider back 10 feet. Cross-Z turns to try and see if Fuma is free to help him, but he instead witnesses an intense battle filled with strategic timing and fluid combat that he could only dream of mastering. Unfortunately for Fuma, her water-like movements were cut short as what appeared to be a medal-shaped energy projectile hit her right side, knocking her down. Out of the shadows came out Kamen Rider Birth as he then put a Cell Medal into his Birth Driver and turned the knob on it, generating a popping sound. The " _ **SHOVEL ARM**_ " activation sound occurs as a large mechanical grey (with some orange markings) claw-like shovel appears on Birth's left forearm and subsequent hand. "Good shot, Quintavius!", Sasword yells as Birth runs over to Ryuki and Cross-Z and grabs the latter Kamen Rider with his Shovel Arm. "Shawn!", Ryuki shouts, "use your Rider Slash on Lauren now!" Before Sasword could touch his Zecter, a loud explosion erupted from one of the walls about fifty feet away from Ryuki. Through the smoke a figure could be seen running towards them, and the identity of this figure was soon deduced as a loud voice announced:

 _ **ARE YOU READY? TENKUU NO ABARENBOU! HAWKGATLING! YEAHHH!**_

In his HawkGatling form, Kamen Rider Build flies over to Birth and kicks him on the head, releasing Cross-Z from his grasp and knocking Birth down. Build then travels to Sasword and lands on top of his shoulders, causing the purple-clad Rider to collapse from the weight. Leaping off Sasword and landing beside Fuma, Build helps her up and asks, "I'm guessing by the amount of chaos and alarms you and Blake both triggered that you are on our side?" "Something like that", Fuma retorts, "and thanks for the assist". Ryuki, now screaming with pure anger and frustration, announces, "You are all finished!", and pulls out a card from his Advent Deck. Placing it in the Drag Visor, Ryuki quickly activates it which triggers the loud declaration, " _ **STRIKE VENT!**_ ", from the card reader. "Oh damn", Cross-Z remarks as he now runs over to Kamen Riders Build and Fuma. The trio nervously watch as Dragreder comes out of Mirror World and a copy of his head, called the Drag Claw, lands on Ryuki's left hand. "Uh guys?", Cross-Z inquires anxiously, "Got any ideas?" Build rests his left hand on Cross-Z's right shoulder and answers, "Your finisher might be strong enough to counteract his Strike Vent…hopefully". "Hopefully? What do you mean hopefully?", Cross-Z asks, clearly panicked. "You got this", Fuma states as she walks over to Cross-Z's left hand, grabs it, and places it on the lever of his Build Driver. Eight feet away, Ryuki pulls his right arm back as both he and Dragreder both charge their attack for maximum firepower. After turning the crank five times, the Build Driver on Cross-Z's waste chants, " _ **READY, GO!**_ ", and a giant blue energy-based dragon appears behind the Rider. In response, Ryuki quickly thrusts the Drag Claw, causing both he and Dragreder unleash an intense amount of fire towards the traitorous trio standing ahead of them. Before the fire could reach he, Build, and Fuma, Cross-Z leaps into the air and the blue and orange Chinese dragon behind him blasts fire that surrounds him; all the while the " _ **DRAGONIC FINISH!**_ " sound occurs in the background. This combination allows Cross-Z to fly forward, cut through the blazing inferno coming towards his comrades, and finally land a kick on Kamen Rider Ryuki.

Well, at least, Cross-Z thought he landed his Rider Kick on Ryuki. As the smoke cleared, both Build and Fuma could see their friend on the ground and Kamen Rider OOO between him and Ryuki. In fact, the amount of energy needed to generate the attack was so great that Cross-Z reverted back into Blake. Upon closer inspection, Build could see that the metals Kamen Rider OOO had active were the Kuwagata, Kame, and Cheetah medals; as seen by the green stag beetle head, brown hardened center, and bright yellow legs. Ryuki chuckled, "Nice timing Sean". "Right?", OOO responded with glee, moving his shell-like arms to the side of his body; as he had used them to form an energy shield to deflect Cross-Z's attack. Build nervously turned to Fuma and inquired, "Alright, got any more ideas?" Fuma only shrugged in response and took out her blades. "I wouldn't do that if I were you", a voice behind Build and Fuma said. As the duo turned, they saw Kamen Rider Gaim and at least a dozen squads of Kurokage Troopers. Then, Kamen Rider Zangetsu landed beside Gaim, having leaped from the rooftop of the building. Instead of her typical Melon Arms, Zangetsu had instead opted for the use of the strawberry-based Ichigo Arms. Quickly, the Kurokage Troopers began surrounding Build, Fuma, and Blake. "I think this is obvious, but in case you two are too stupid to see that you're outnumbered I suggest you take off your armors now", proclaimed Gaim. Build shifted his head toward Fuma and whispered, "How fast can you get to Blake if I were to create a distraction?" Fuma replied, "Very fast and I can even get him out of here". Although confused, Build put his trust in Fuma and began quickly spinning the barrel of his HawkGatlinger. " _ **10, 20, 30, 40**_ …", were being shouted by the weapon as the Hawk-and-gun armored Rider leaped off the ground and began gaining height. "Get back!", Gaim and Ryuki yelled simultaneously as the diameter of Build's attack grew and grew. " _ **50, 60, 70**_ …", the numbers increasing doubled the speed of those running away from the potential blast radius. All except for Kamen Rider Fuma who had run over to Blake, grabbed him, and pressed a button on her Game Driver that triggered the announcement, " _ **STAGE SELECT**_ ". " _ **80, 90, 100! FULL BULLET!**_ ", was screamed from the gun as Build looked down to find both Fuma and Blake gone. With a smile behind the helmet, Build pulled the trigger of the HawkGatlinger which pulverized the sky and ground with astounding gunpower. Left and right, Kamen Riders were trying to dodge the truly excessive yet awesome amount of gunfire. One example is Kamen Rider Sasword, who tried to activate his Clock Up but failed has 10 bullets lit up across his back; if he were not in his armor, he would have surely died. Once all 100 bullets had finished being deployed, Build attempted to gain more distance so that he could escape, but that would fail spectacularly. During the crossfire, Kamen Riders OOO and Birth had formulated a plan: OOO would transform into Latorartar form and Birth would use his Cutter Wings to fly OOO to Build for him to land on his back and shred the wings with his claws. And once the firing ceased, Kamen Riders OOO and Birth did just that. Now, with his wings from the Taka Fullbottle severely damaged, Build began rapidly descending toward the ground and landed on his back. "Ow", Build uttered as he looked around himself to see that he was, indeed, surrounded. More and more Riders began appearing around him, such as Ghost, Specter, Gatack, and Zolda. "Zolda!", Ryuki commanded, "Blast him to Kingdom Come!" Kamen Rider Zolda nodded in response and signaled for the other Riders to back away. Feeling hopeless and full of despair, Build uttered a prayer that was too quiet to be heard as he watched the green-buffalo-based Rider load an advent card into his gun-like Magna Visor. " _ **SHOOT VENT!**_ ", was announced as two large cannons mounted on top of his shoulders and were fired. However, the world was not finished with Kamen Rider Build as blue pixels began forming in front of him mere seconds before the fiery projectiles hit him. As the pixels cleared and the blast was absorbed, Build's eyes focused on what protected him. What he saw was Fuma and covering her in a protective embrace was Kamen Rider Kabuto in his masked form.


	14. Episode 12

**MOMENTS EARLIER**

For Blake, everything felt like it was moving in superspeed. One second he was lying on the ground by Kamen Rider OOO's feet, barely conscious, the next Blake was grabbed by Fuma and surrounded by blue pixels again. This time, however, Blake felt as if he was on a roller coaster instead of feeling empowered. As the pixels faded, Blake regained more consciousness and was surprised to find he and Fuma in a room surrounded by a group of people he was somewhat familiar with. A young man with shaggy brown hair and glasses stepped forward yelling, "What the Hell is going on down there Lauren?!" Fuma answered, "Build and this idiot decided that today would be the best day for them to rebel against the UFE" and lightly dropped Blake on the ground beside her feet. The man rolled his eyes and proceeded to help Blake up and onto a nearby gray couch. "I need you Jason", Fuma began looking at the young man, "Build is still in trouble, plus you know the rules". Blake looked up at the two people with a confused expression and asked, "Rules? What rules?" A man of Hispanic descent came forward, his black fleece containing the logo of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, and responded, "Riders who use Game Drivers, such as Lauren and myself, have certain limitations programmed into our Rider systems". Fuma continued, "For example, when we use the Stage Select feature on our drivers we can teleport to anywhere in the world; however, the same number of people, one of them being me, must return to the area they teleported from within a six-minute time span". Blake furrowed his eyebrows, "What happens if you fail to do so?" "Their Rider systems are either permanently damaged or the users of such systems are permanently damaged", answered Jason now walking over to Fuma, "Did you get them?" Fuma responded by pointing to Blake and stated, "He has them". A smirk appeared for a moment over Jason's face before quickly turning back into a scowl. Jason turned to face a young Caucasian man in the crowd, "Christian, how fast can you get to the UFE complex?" The young man with a 5'9" frame, short black hair, and a Kamen Rider Drive logo on his fleece, who Blake presumed to be Christian, answered, "With Tridoron, I can get there in ten minutes". "Be there in five", ordered Jason, "Take Cooper with you, I'll need a bike for myself to get out of there". A man with a darker complexion standing next to Christian turned to him and gave a mischievous smile. This man, who is named Cooper, is the user of the Kamen Rider Lazer system, as shown by the Lazer logo on his fleece Jacket. Christian rolled his eyes in retaliation and the two Riders began heading out for the base. "Everyone else", Jason commanded, "remains here until further notice, no if's, and's, or but's". The remaining Riders in the room nodded in response and affirmation. Quickly, Jason held out his hand and the Kabuto Zecter flew directly into the palm of his hand as he slid the sentient device onto his belt which triggered the announcement, " _ **HENSHIN!**_ ". Now encased in bulky grey and red armor, Kabuto grabbed onto Fuma's hand as the two transformed Kamen Riders were enveloped by blue pixels and vanished instantaneously.

 **PRESENT MOMENT**

Build stared in awe at Kabuto and Fuma as he realized that his time on Earth was far from over. "Lauren?", Build questioned, "Where's Blake?" Kabuto, now releasing Fuma from his embrace and helping the injured Kamen Rider to his feet, faced Build and muttered, "Safe, but it appears you are far from it". "I don't know", Build joked, "I think I had everything under control". Both Fuma and Kabuto let out a chuckle in response. "Jason!", Ryuki screamed, "I hope this is you taking your opportunity to surrender to us!" In response, Kabuto pulled on the horn of the Kabuto Zecter, initiating the Cast-Off process.

 _ **CAST OFF! CHANGE BEETLE!**_

Kabuto then took one hand each from Fuma and Build, placed them on his elbows, and whispered, "Hold on tight", as he slammed the Clock Up pad on his belt. The " _ **CLOCK UP!**_ " announcement was heard, and the three figures dashed away in a blur of red, blue, grey, and orange light. Once Build and Fuma heard the " _ **CLOCK OVER!**_ " sound, the three Riders took the moment to analyze their surroundings. Kabuto had not taken them far from where they once were, only to an area behind one of the buildings ten feet away. The FullBottle-using Rider turned to look at Kabuto and saw that his legs were shaking, as if they were about to buckle from holding a heavy object. "Are you alright?", Build inquired. Kabuto laid his back against the wall of the building and responded, "Fine. I'm guessing your wings are no good?" Build shook his head, "Once I finished my FULL BULLET attack, Sean managed to get on top of me and shred my wings with his tiger claws". The beetle-based Rider peaked his head over the corner of the building and witnessed Ryuki screeching in frantic anger orders to seek and destroy the renegades. Kabuto turned to Fuma and Build stating, "We don't have much time, we're going to have to keep them busy. Andrew, I need you to use your Rabbit FullBottle and fire at that group from the rooftop six feet from us. Lauren, you're sticking with me". Both Riders nodded, and Build swapped out the Taka FullBottle for the Rabbit one, eliciting the sounds, " _ **RABBIT! ARE YOU READY?!**_ ". Unfortunately for the trio, the sounds of Build's 'Build Up' caught the attention of Kamen Riders Ghost and Specter as well as some Kurokage Troopers. It only took seconds for the rest of the UFE Riders to notice the commotion as they all began charging towards the renegades. "Alright, game time", Kabuto stated as Build leapt onto the rooftop of the building the trio was behind and began sprinting towards the 6 ft. checkpoint. However, that did not deter Ghost and Specter as they both jumped onto the shoulders of Kurokage Troopers and jumped again onto a rooftop to chase Build. "Go after Kabuto and Fuma", Specter ordered to the troopers. "I think he was talking about us", Fuma announced, standing beside Kabuto as both Riders began running forward to battle the troopers. Ten feet away, Kamen Riders Gaim, Gatack, and Zangetsu stood, watching the commotion. "I'm going to man the gated entrance to the facility, do you think you guys can handle this?" Both Riders nodded in response and began walking. Kamen Rider Gatack turned to Zangestu and stated, "I'll go for Jason, you take down Lauren". Zangetsu retorted, "No, they will be expecting that. You worry about Lauren, Jason is mine". With that, both UFE Kamen Riders began charging at the renegades; with Gatack drawing his Double Calbers and Zangetsu with her Ichigo Kunai.

On the rooftop, Kamen Rider Build found himself caught in-between Ghost and Specter as each pulled out a weapon: the Gan Gun Saber for the former and the Gan Gun Hand for the latter. Ghost began the assault by lunging forward at Build with his saber which the latter avoided by sidestepping. However, this was merely a simple trap to give Build some false confidence as Specter performed a complex yet fluid acrobatic maneuver that led Build into thinking that Specter would attack with his Gan Gun Hand in his right hand when during the flip he had switched it to his left. The impact of the rod-based weapon landed on Build's clavicle, causing him to fall onto his left knee as an involuntary response. In retaliation, Build fired a couple shots at Specter, but missed as he was distracted by an enticing jingle.

 _ **KAIGAN: MUSASHI! KETTO! ZUBATTO! CHO KENGO!**_

Just when Build turned to face where the jingle was emanating from, he was slashed across the face by Ghost's Gan Gun Saber in its Naginata mode; the Hawk Gatlinger retreating into his belt. Once Build fell to the ground, he was able to sit up and get a better view of his attacker. Ghost no longer possessed an orange face with large black eyes, but instead possessed a completely black face with two red swords in the middle and a red hood. Build then turned his head to face Specter, who was now putting a turquoise Eyecon into his driver.

 _ **EYE! BATCHIRIMIRO! KAIGAN: TUTANKHAMUN! PYRAMID WA SANKAKU! OKE NO SHIKAKU!**_

After completing his transformation, Kamen Rider Specter was now adorned with pharaoh-like armor that was designed as a turquoise hood with gold plating on the shoulders. Specter then took his Gan Gun Hand, switched it to sickle mode, and held the weapon by Build's neck. Ghost rested his stance slightly to reach up to the commlink near his helmet, "Dan, we apprehended Andrew. Want us to put him in a containment unit?" Build could not hear what Ryuki was ordering, but by Ghost's change in posture, he assumed the worst. "Are you sure, I-I mean I know he rebelled, but I d-don't think", Ghost stuttered and lowered his head in what Build perceives to be future regret, "Okay Dan, it will be done". Build turned his head to look past the edge of the rooftop to see Ryuki staring at him for two seconds before turning to walk towards the conflict Fuma and Kabuto were in. As Ryuki walked closer to toward the commotion he pulled out an advent card, which Build was able to read from where he was laying. The card read, "Final Vent". Knowing that Ryuki was preparing his finishing move, Build had only seconds to come up with a plan to interrupt the attack. "So…", Specter began, "what does Ryuki want us to do?" Ghost responded in a saddened tone, "To kill him". Build's head turned to face the two Riders and, with the enhanced speed the Rabbit FullBotle provided, swiped away Specter's sickle, applied pressure to the spring on his left foot, and launched into the air. Once in the air, Build summoned the Drill Crusher from his driver so that he could load it with the Rocket FullBottle. " _ **READY, GO!**_ ", was announced by the weapon as Build pressed on the trigger, which caused the Drill Spiral Blade to detach from the hilt and fly towards Ryuki, " _ **VORTEX BREAK!**_ ". Kamen Rider Ryuki, by that point in time, was already engulfed by Dragreder's flames as he was soaring towards Kabuto until the rocketing blade slammed the left side of his body. A sigh of relief escaped from Build's mouth as he watched Ryuki fall to the ground midway through his finisher. Build then leaped from the rooftop and landed on the ground. "Stop right there Andrew!", a voice yelled as Build turned to see Specter and Ghost falling towards him with their weapons drawn. Build quickly summoned the Hawk Gatlinger from his driver and turned the crank on the belt, " _ **READY, GO! VORTEX ATTACK!**_ ". The FullBottle-using Kamen Rider made a large leap into the air as he pulled the trigger of the weapon, generating a large blast that hit both Riders as they fell to the ground, their armors failing them. Walking over to the unconscious Riders, Build was grateful to find they both still had pulses and remarked, "I'm sorry guys, I never wanted to hurt any of you", as he ran over to help his comrades.

The tide of battle for the conflict involving Kamen Riders Kabuto, Fuma, Gatack, and Zangetsu kept changing throughout Build's ordeal. Earlier, Kabuto and Fuma were easily overpowering their opposition; but now, Kabuto had both knees on the ground and Fuma was becoming more and more exhausted trying to balance her time fighting Gatack and the Kurokage Troopers. "What's wrong Jason?", Zangetsu began, "Am I not worthy to lose by your Clock Up?" Kabuto gave a chuckle, "Oh Rose, I thought you knew me better". Just when the beetle-based Rider was about to swipe Zangetsu's feet, something else did it for him. Looking up, Kabuto saw one of Fuma's Ninja-Players standing above them and then disappearing back into Fuma. " _Lauren_ ", Kabuto thought, " _What are you doing? You lose strength the more you summon your Players_ ". In the distance Kabuto could see Build running towards him, but he was intercepted by OOO, Birth, Zolda, and Ryuki. Looking at Fuma's predicament, Kabuto's eyes widened underneath his helmet as he saw Fuma disarmed and Gatack combining his Double Calibers so that they looked like stag beetle mandibles. " _ **RIDER CUTTING!**_ ", sounded as Gatack ran toward Fuma, placed her within the blades, and began squeezing. Taking two deep breaths, Kabuto smacked the pad on his belt before Zangetsu managed to regain her footing.

 _ **CLOCK UP!**_

" _Okay_ ", Kabuto thought, " _First things first, save Lauren_ ". By moving at near-light speed, Kabuto safely made his way to Lauren and placed his hands under her arms to grab her. "Ahhh!", Kabuto screeched as he felt 120 volts pass through his body, if he were without his armor he would be dead. " _Well, I figured that would happen. Looks like the only way to help Lauren is to kick him. I'm sorry Kyle_ ", Kabuto thought to himself. The only moving Rider walked over to Gatack and began the countdown, " _ **1, 2, 3**_ ". Kabuto then reset the horn back into its original position before the Cast Off and began charging his attack. Once finished charging, Kabuto pulled on the horn, " _ **RIDER KICK!**_ ". The electrical and tachyon charged kick was delivered straight to Gatack's stomach which caused the Kamen Rider to begin slowly flying backwards. After delivering the kick, Kabuto noticed that time was beginning to speed up back to its original state. " _No_ ", thought Kabuto, " _Not now, I still have to help Andrew_ ". Running as fast as he could, time still catching up, Kabuto made it next to Ryuki and began the preparations for another Rider Kick. However, once Kabuto hit the first button on the Zecter that starts the sequence, a mix of electrical and tachyon energy began sparking from his armor, causing him to yell in agony and fall to one knee.

 _ **CLOCK OVER!**_

Ryuki was surprised to find Kabuto next to him fallen to one knee; normally he would've expected the great Kamen Rider Kabuto to not have made such a foolish error. Not missing an opportunity, Ryuki delivered a kick across Kabuto's helmet which knocked the latter onto his back. Before beginning any other attack, a loud scream was heard over by Gatack. Since the energy Gatack had charged to attack Fuma failed to deliver to her, it ran back to him; add that with the Rider Kick he received from Kabuto microseconds earlier, it is no surprise that he fell on his back without his armor. "Damn", spoke OOO. Ryuki looked towards Zangetsu, who was confused as to where her target went, and said, "Rose! Finish what Kyle started, neutralize Lauren". Zangetsu nodded and began moving towards Fuma. "Aaaahhh!", was heard as the figure of Kamen Rider Gaim in his Kachidoki arms flew over everyone's heads. "What the Hell!", yelled Ryuki as he turned to see what hit the Lockseed-using Council Member. A red car with white stripes down the middle came screeching into the compound, ran over the Kurokage Troopers, and parked near Fuma and Zangetsu. Two figures, Christian and Cooper, exited the car and attached their respective drivers. Cooper took out two Gashats from his jacket pockets and pressed the switches on their sides, " _ **BAKUSOU BIKE! GIRI GIRI CHAMBARA!**_ ". Turning the switch on the Drive Driver, Christian began the standby music that proceeded his transformation, drew his Shift Speed Car, inserted it into the Shift Brace and pulled up on it.

 _ **GASHAT! GACHAN! LEVEL UP! BAKUSOU DOKUSOU GEKISOU BAKUSOU BIKE! A GOTCHA! GIRI-GIRI-GIRI-GIRI CHAMBARA!**_

 _ **DRIVE: TYPE SPEED!**_

Now suited and ready to battle, Kamen Rider Lazer pulled out his Gashacon Sparrow and began firing upon Ryuki, OOO, Zolda, and Birth to provide cover for Kabuto and Build to run to the red car, whilst Drive went to confront Zangetsu with his Handle-Ken. Upon arriving at the car Kabuto asked, "What the Hell was taking so long?" "What do you mean?", Drive began, "We arrived just in time". Fuma retorted, "Like Hell you did", as she regained her footing and assisted Drive in combating the white Lockseed-using Kamen Rider. Knowing that she could not defeat Drive in her exhausted state, Zangetsu began walking backwards towards Ryuki and his comrades, deflecting the laser arrows that Lazer was unloading onto her with her Ichigo Kunai. Drive turned to see Gaim standing back up, undoubtably angry with how he was hit by the red car, Tridoron. "That…hurt", Gaim stated. A nervous laugh came out of Drive's mouth, "No hard feelings?". Gaim responded by placing his hand on the cutting blade of the Sengoku Driver and sliced downward, " _ **KACHIDOKI SQUASH!**_ ". Drive's eyes widened beneath his helmet with slight fear, "Uh oh". "Don't worry, I'll handle him", said Fuma as she removed her Hurricane Ninja Gashat from the primary slot in the Gamer Driver and placed it in the slot adjacent to the Stage Select button. " _ **KIMEWAZA!**_ ", was announced as Kamen Rider Fuma's blades began charging with digital energy, while Gaim began running towards Fuma to land a Rider Kick on her. Pressing the finisher button once again, the Gamer Driver's announcer stated, " _ **HURRICANE CRITICAL STRIKE!**_ ". Kamen Rider Fuma began spinning her kodachi blades, creating two tornado-like objects that flew towards Gaim. Thankfully for the ninja-based Rider, Gaim was greatly hindered by the tornados but still managed to land his toes on her chest, causing her to fly back two feet. Meanwhile, Zangetsu had prepared her finisher as well, having attached the Ichigo Lockseed to her Musou Saber and slicing her weapon in the air, which created a giant energy-based strawberry that split into multiple kunai that flew towards the renegades.

 _ **LOCK ON! 1, 10, 100: ICHIGO CHARGE!**_

 _ **TIRE KOUKAN: DREAM VEGAS**_

Having seen other Lockseed-Riders use that attack before, Kamen Rider Drive knew the best way to defend against it in the renegades' current conundrum. Utilizing the Drum Shields of the Shift Dream Vegas Car and the speed of his Type Speed form, Drive was able to deflect a majority of the kunai flying towards him and his comrades; some had hit Lazer but he only suffered minor scratches to his armor. "Hey Jason", Drive remarked, "I think it's time to scram". Kabuto responded, "I think your right", and turned to Build, "Do you have a way out of here? I know your Solstall Wings from the Taka FullBottle are damaged". Build pulled out a phone-like object and inserted the Lion Fullbottle inside of it, causing the announcement " _ **BUILD CHANGE!**_ " and the phone to transform into a motorcycle. "Excellent", Kabuto stated, "Lauren, you ride with Christian in Tridoron. I'll go with Cooper. And Andrew, you just try to catch up". Build laughed from the remakr as the rest of his new comrades followed Kabuto's orders. Kamen Rider Lazer had went from his Level 3 form that utilized the Giri Giri Chambara Gashat to his Level 2 form that transformed him into a motorcycle which Kabuto sat on and prepared to drive. One by one, the renegades left the compound, moving at full speed as they raced toward the hideout.

At the UFE compound, the wreckage of the battle was clear. There now existed multiple holes in buildings and many Riders and Kurokage Troopers in the infirmary. Still in their armored forms helping the wounded get into the infirmary, Zolda approached Ryuki and questioned, "They might not have gotten far, do you want me to go out with Snipe, Delta, and some Riotroopers to search for them?" Ryuki shook his head, "No need. The tracker that we placed on PunchHopper is still active, so we just need to regroup and select a better team. For now, you need to worry about wearing your ceremonial garments". Zolda lowered his head, "Dan, I respect you 110%; but, I stand by what I said in the meeting, I think it is too soon". Ryuki placed his hand on Zolda's shoulder, "I am grateful that you still respect me, I can tell that I am losing some trust here. Maybe they're right. Maybe I am turning my feelings of sadness and loss from Annie's death into anger and hatred". "I think maybe you should talk to someone about it", Zolda carefully suggested, "After all, you did order us to kill them a few times". Ryuki nodded, "I'll keep that in mind". Just then, both Riders heard a sound they had grown accustomed to, the sound of someone or something jumping from the Mirror World to the "real" world. Turning to face the sound, Ryuki was surprised to see Steven come out of a reflective window. "What brings you here?", inquired Ryuki. Steven answered, "The other Advent Riders and I are wondering if the ceremony is still going to continue as scheduled or if you would like us to go search for Jason and the rest of the traitors". Nodding the affirmative, Ryuki replied, "The ceremony is still a go. Also, I'm going to need to you later tonight, the UFE has contracted the private company FAUST to help develop more systems for us to utilize since we are understaffed". Steven bowed his head, "Yes sir", and walked back into the Mirror World through the window.


	15. Episode 13

**UFE HQ**

"We are going after them Dan", Rose yelled to Dan in the Mission Control Center. Dan, not looking at Rose and fidgeting with the controls on the main console in the center of the room responded, "For the last time Rose, I am not sending more Riders to get seriously injured by Jason and the rest of the traitors". Rose rolled her eyes, "Dan, I can take him". Walking over to a monitor, Dan pulled up a screen of the Medical Bay. The screen displayed Kyle lying in one of the cots, tubes going into his bandage-covered body, and a heart rate monitor showing an abnormal heart rate. Pointing at the screen, Dan asks, "Do you want to end up like that?" Rose remained silent. "Kyle's central nervous system nearly shut down", remarked Dan. "Nearly?", inquired Rose. "If he was not a ZECT Rider, the amount of tachyon and electrical energy produced from his failed finisher and Jason's kick would have either left him permanently paralyzed or dead". Rose cocked her head, "So you're worried about me?" Dan chuckled, "No, the reason I am not allowing you to go after the renegades is because you are responsible for Kyle's condition". Rose took a step back, expressions of shock and anger came across her face, "What in the Hell are you talking about?" Dan's face turned stoic, "Wasn't it your bright idea for you to attack Jason instead of Kyle? If you had an ounce of intellect, you would have realized that Kyle would have had the best chance to take Jason down. Now because of your stupidity and need to prove yourself, we are down a Rider who could go toe-to-toe with Jason". Clenching her fist, Rose visualized punching Dan across his face but began to slowly understand that her misjudgment caused a fellow Rider to be critically injured. Unclenching her fist, Rose lowered her head and said, "I apologize for my error, it will not happen again". Opening the door to leave the Mission Control Center, Dan turned to Rose and stated, "I sure hope so. Now leave, I have a ceremony as well as a meeting to attend". With that, Rose walked out of the Mission Control Center and headed for the Training Dojo.

 **Renegade Base**

To Build's surprise, the base of his now fellow renegades resided in an unhidden place within the city. The building was a little over 3 meters tall and had the appearance of a storage facility. In the parking lot of the facility, each Rider dismounted their vehicles and deactivated their armors except for Kabuto. Once outside of his armor, Andrew began to feel the heavy amount of toll his body must take due to the extensive use of the Build Driver and collapsed to the ground. Kabuto turned to Christian and ordered, "Help get Andrew inside and rest him on the couch, I'll have Hunter look at him". Christian nodded the affirmative and lifted Andrew to his feet and began walking to a large shutter door at the front of the building. With the press of a button on the side of the door, the door rose, and the two men walked into the complex. Cooper and Lauren turned to face Kabuto whose armor was now slowly disappearing. Both Lauren's and Cooper's eyes widened with horror as they now noticed the ill-state Jason's body was in. Standing before the duo was an extremely gaunt man with close to zero defined musculature on his arms and legs. Jason fell forward and both Riders caught him and began to slowly carry him into the base. "That was incredibly stupid of you to help me", spoke Lauren who now blamed herself for Jason's poor physique. Jason retorted, "Well I'd figured I return the favor, you know, since you wasted energy trying to help me fight Rose". Cooper, with a look of confusion on his face, finally asked the million-dollar question, "What in the Hell is going on?" Jason turned his head to face Cooper, "I'll explain once you get me to my quarters. We should take the side entrance. It'll be best that the others don't see me like this". Both Riders nodded and entered the side entrance of the building.

Jason's room demonstrated what most of the other Kamen Riders thought of him as, a minimalist. The only furniture in the room was a white bed that was 1 foot off the floor and a tiny brown desk. Cooper and Lauren helped Jason to his bed, but the latter insisted on sitting on the floor. Once Jason was on the floor, Cooper asked, "What's happening to you Jason?" A somber expression took hold of Jason's face as he replied, "To put it simply, I'm not eating enough. The ZECT Rider armor increases the metabolism of an individual to 5-times what it's supposed to be. I don't know if you noticed back when we were still a part of the UFE, but all the ZECT Riders consumed a lot of calories. If I don't eat enough then I start to shake uncontrollably, lose control of my speed in Rider form, and have heart irregularities. Unfortunately, since we are fugitives, food is not that easy to come by anymore. So, to feed the team I've been refusing to take food portions". Cooper was at a loss for words, the only sound that exited his mouth was, "Whoa". A fist soon collided into Jason's arm and the Rider reflexively grabbed his limb. Lauren, the owner of the punch, yelling, "You are an idiot Jason. I have been telling you this for weeks. How do you expect the others to follow you if you die from a heart attack the next time were in battle?" A smile grew onto Jason's face, "Well first, I wouldn't scream like a child. Second, there will be no team to lead if the others die from starvation". Jason moved his head to face Cooper and stated, "Cooper listen, you, Hunter, Trevor, Elijah, and Lauren are the only other Riders who know that I'm sick. I need you to keep this a secret". Cooper nodded his head, "Alright, I will". Lauren stood up, "We need to tell Andrew as well". Both Jason and Cooper turned their heads, a look of confusion across their faces. "He saw you shaking", said Lauren, "besides he just left the UFE, we need to show him some form of trust". Jason nodded in agreement, "Okay, but not now. Right now, we need to rest". A knock on the door interrupted such rest. "Come in", spoke Jason. A man of Hispanic descent entered the room, on top of his head was a white visor and above that was his jet-black hair tied into a bun. On his black fleece jacket was the emblem of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid. "Hunter, what is it?", inquired Jason. Before the man could answer, the painful moans of Blake were heard echoing through the complex. Understanding the gravity of the situation, Jason stated, "Alright, we'll be right there. Cooper in my closet you'll find a muscle suit". Cooper went to the closet and found the suit in question. After a minute of effort, the muscle suit was on Jason and it did well to hide his now frail body. "Alright", Jason said, "Let's go".

"What exactly happened?", inquired Jason, walking at a brisk pace alongside Hunter, Cooper, and Lauren. "I'm not sure", began Hunter, "One second Blake was cracking a joke, the next he's having a seizure". Jason started thinking quickly, he had an idea of what was causing the seizures, but he needed to be sure. Turning his head to face Lauren he asked, "How many times did Blake use a finisher?" Lauren took a second to think, "I only saw him use it once when we were fighting Dan, but it was countered by Sean". Jason shook his head, "Countering has nothing to do with it". "Tell that to Kyle", Lauren retorted. Jason glared at Lauren but had no time for an argument and turned his head to face Hunter, "Is Ashley in there with him?" Hunter nodded the affirmative. As the group of four entered the room, they saw Blake shaking violently with Elijah and Andrew keeping him at his side to keep his airway open. Jason looked around the room and made eye contact with Ashley. The young witch could tell she was needed and proceeded to walk towards Jason. "I don't suppose you have anything for seizures", Jason asked. Ashley pulled out a ring with an orange stone in the center that had the picture of white dragon sleeping. Taking a quick glance at it, Jason inquired, "Anything else you could try?" "I could chain him up", replied Ashley. Jason, Cooper, Lauren, and Hunter all shook their heads in disagreement. "That is the worst thing you can do", said Hunter. Knowing that chains were not an option, Jason ordered, "Put him to sleep". With that, Ashley placed the ring on a finger of her right hand and held it in front of her White WizarDriver, causing the voice of the driver to command, " _ **SLEEP, NOW!**_ ". In a matter of seconds, Blake's seizing ceased, and everyone watched with concern as his breathing returned to normal.

Wasting no time, Jason walked over to Andrew and asked hastily, "How many times did Blake use his finisher?" Like with Lauren, it took Andrew time to register the question, but eventually he responded, "Twice, I think. Once against Rose and the other against Dan but that attack was interrupted by Sean". Jason nodded his head to signal his understanding, "We'll have to realign his Rider aura". A look of confusion appeared on Andrew's face, "His Rider what?" Hunter cut in, "All Kamen Riders have an energy signature that manifests in certain ways. For example, my aura manifests as immunity from the Bugster Virus and yours manifests as your Hazard Level". Shaking his head, Andrew responded, "So Blake needs Nebula Gas to get back to normal?" Ignoring his question, Jason ran to another door that led to a staircase and yelled, "Christian, Art, get down here!" Seeing Andrew's confused expression, Hunter answered, "No, we don't need Nebula Gas; rather, members of the Council". Entering through the doorway Jason was yelling from came Christian and a young man of Greek Descent with brown eyes, wavy brown hair, a short brown beard, and the symbol of Kamen Rider Blade on his black fleece jacket. Skipping introductions, Jason ordered, "Christian, Art, Hunter, and Andrew, join me and surround Blake. Everyone else leave us". Quickly the five men gathered around the fast-asleep Rider, crouched down, and held their hands over Blake whilst the room emptied. Andrew followed along, still very much confused.

After 10 seconds a blue and gold light began to levitate from Blake's body. Andrew's mouth gaped open as the light was something he had never seen before; it was beautiful yet powerful. The four veteran Riders turned to look at Andrew's reaction, they were very much amused. Art chimed in, "What you are seeing Andrew is the very essence of a Kamen Rider. Some are made and some are born, like you and Blake". Andrew nodded his head and noticed that the light, although majestic, was dimming and flickering. "What's happening", Andrew asked. Jason answered, " _That_ is the problem. Riders who became Council Members like you, me, Art, Christian, and Hunter have auras that are incredibly strong and vibrant. If you think Blake's is grand, you should see yours. Anyway, because our auras are the strongest, we can handle putting our energy into performing multiple finishers or accessing different forms. Unfortunately for Blake, it appears his aura could barely handle two". Andrew turned to face Jason and asked, "How do we fix it?" A smirk and chuckle escaped Jason's lips, "We're doing that now. It'll probably take an hour to get him conscious again". After 30 minutes, Jason snapped his head up to face the other Riders and said, "After this we need to initiate Aisha as a Kamen Rider". Christian looked up at his friend and inquired, "What's her Rider System?" "The Genesis Driver and Peach Energy Lockseed", answered Jason. Art furrowed his eyebrows, "I don't know if that's such a good idea". Confused, Jason asked, "Do you not think Aisha is ready?" Art rebutted, "No, it's not that. It's just when a candidate is about to be inducted as a Kamen Rider, typically the Council Member bearing that Rider System is there. And since we ae not on speaking terms with Geoffrey at the moment, it won't feel valid". Jason nodded, "That is true, but we need all the help we can get. And since we were Council Members there is a form of validity there". After 20 more minutes, Hunter asked, "Will…um…Briana be there?" Everyone except for Andrew rolled their eyes and laughed in response. "Dude", Christian began, "Briana is human-vampire hybrid with aging slower than ours. She's probably like 80". "So, what you're saying is that it'll be hard, but I have chance", Hunter retorted comically. Andrew's eyes widened, "Wait a minute, Kamen Rider Kiva is on our side". Hunter's boyish grin widened, "You damn right she is. You really think she's going to be listening to any of Dan's crap. Plus, it helps that Jason dated her sister". A burning glare met Hunter's eyes as Jason's face both blushed and contorted with anger. Lowering his head, Hunter apologized. 10 more minutes passed by and the aura healing concluded with Blake's blue and gold light glowing more powerfully than it had before. Blake's eyes slowly opened, and a sigh of relief left the men surrounding him. Turning to everyone, Jason said, "Alright, that should do it. Everyone, get dressed, we have a ceremony to perform". The Riders nodded and dismissed themselves to their own quarters. Before he could leave to find himself a room, Andrew felt Jason grab his arm, "Andrew, there are some things that Lauren and I have to discuss with you".


	16. Episode 14

Andrew was not sure what Jason and Lauren wanted to talk to him about; he thought that it may be an interrogation to get any information on the UFE out of him to benefit Jason and his cohorts. To his relief, rather than a chair with straps and other interrogation equipment the UFE may have used, Andrew entered a room with only a white bed that was 1 foot off the floor and a tiny brown desk. "You seem relieved", remarked Jason who was now entering the room along with Lauren. Andrew responded, "To be quite honest, I thought you were going to interrogate me". Lauren smirked, "Are you saying that you don't trust us". Andrew shrugged his shoulders in response. "Well, that's why we wanted to talk to you", Jason began, "You are in the thick of it now, this minor conflict within the UFE has now become a full-fledged civil war with more Kamen Riders choosing sides. Because of this, the Earth is now at its most vulnerable from the forces who wish to bring its destruction. We are Kamen Riders which means that we fight for the freedom of all people, and that is what we will continue to do. Do you have any questions?" Nodding the affirmative, Andrew stated, "Yeah, a few. What were…" Before Andrew could finish his question, Lauren cut him off by saying in a rather authoritative and sassy tone, "Before you do ask any questions, Jason has to tell you something". Jason lowered his head and began to take off his jacket, revealing the muscle suit. Removing the muscle suit, Andrew began to see the poor condition Jason's body was at. "What's happening to you?", Andrew asked. "To put it simply my body can't keep up with the speed the Clock Up function my suit produces. The more I use it without consuming thousands of calories beforehand, the frailer I become", answered Jason. A look of confusion grew on Andrew's face, "Why are you telling me this?" Lauren answered, "This is us giving you our trust. As of now you, me, Hunter, Trevor, Elijah, and Cooper are the only ones that are aware of Jason's condition". Andrew nodded his head, "Don't worry, my lips are sealed".

Jason smiled in response, "Alright, now feel free to ask us anything". Puzzled, Andrew took his time to come up with a list of questions. After 20 seconds, the rookie prioritized his questions and began asking them. "Did Kamen Rider Femme really have an affair with you?", asked Andrew. The smile on Jason's face faltered and his eyes looked towards the ground, a typical sign of someone who is ashamed of their actions. Taking a deep breath, the frail man answered, "Yes, Annie and I did have a romantic escapade whilst she was engaged with Dan". The room was silent. Jason looked to see the expression on Andrew's face and found a look that a detective would give to a suspect in a murder case. In response to the look, Jason inquired, "Are you looking for the motive of Annie's death?" Andrew responded, "I'm just very confused. I look at you and I see a man who's willing to help his friends and protect them. I was starting to think that the things discussed about you in the UFE were vicious rumors to rally us but hearing one of those rumors to be true is disconcerting". Jason nodded his head in an understanding gesture but remained silent. Seeing as the current conversation was going nowhere, Andrew asked another question, "What were Trevor and Elijah doing last night?" Jason, relieved to see the conversation had switched topics, responded, "They were on patrol. Like I said earlier, we are still Kamen Riders and have the responsibility to protect the planet. To be more specific, however, we've noticed that the level of Dopant and Greeed activities have increased steadily at a constant rate. This led us to believe that perhaps they are working together and from what the two had seen, we are correct". Andrew countered, "When you found out about this why didn't you tell Lauren when she was undercover, she could have brought attention to this to the other Kamen Riders in the UFE?" Lauren began slowly moving closer to Andrew, arguing, "Tell me Andrew, how many conversations have you had with Dan that didn't end in 'We need to bring down the traitors'? That man is out of his mind and won't listen to reason".

Suddenly Andrew's eyes widened, and fear began setting in. Lauren was the first to notice it and asked, "What's wrong?" "Elijah", Andrew yelled, "Dan had Verde put a tracer on him during the confrontation at the mall. He knows our location!" Jason and Lauren both looked unphased. "What are you guys doing? Why aren't you panicking?", inquired Andrew. Jason smiled, "Because we already knew about the tracer and had put it on another building 100 miles from here. Just because we are out-manned doesn't mean we're stupid". A knock on the door interrupted the conversation. The three riders turned to face the doorway to see Trevor standing there. "What is it Trevor?", Jason asked calmly. Trevor responded, "The others and I were wondering when you would like to perform the initiation?" Nodding Jason rose from the ground and stated, "We'll do it in about 20 minutes. Hopefully Kamen Rider Kiva will be able to make it". Trevor nodded in understanding and walked away. Lauren turned to face Andrew, "Do you have any more questions?" Andrew shook his head, "Not as of this moment". Jason rose from the ground, "Good, now let's get ready for the initiation".

After being directed to his new quarters, Andrew's heart sank a little as it dawned on him the severity of his current situation. Whilst back at the UFE he possessed what would be considered a college-like dorm room, now Andrew had to live in a room with a cold, grey concrete floor, poorly painted brown walls, and a wooden bunk bed with clearly unclean sheets. "It's all we have left", Lauren stated with a grimace. Andrew nodded and proceeded to sit on the bed on the bottom. As Lauren was leaving the room, Andrew began to remember his own initiation. The intense secrecy behind it, the excitement of becoming a hero, and the fact that he would become the first Kamen Rider in history to utilize the fullbottles as a Rider system made Andrew nervous at the time, but he knew it would be worth it. Andrew began to remeber himself being cloaked in white, the kind faces of the other council members guiding him to his destiny, and preparing the binding process that would link Andrew with the Build Driver. Andrew's daydreaming was interrupted as Jason and a woman of small height and Dominican descent came walking into his room. On the woman's fleece jacket was the logo of Kamen Rider Mars. "Hey", Jason shouted, "We're going to begin the induction". Responding with an affirmative nod, Andrew rose from his bed and walked with the other two riders.

Entering the living room where Blake had his seizure earlier in the night, Andrew noticed that the room was full of renegade Kamen Riders. " _These must be all of the renegades_ ", Andrew thought to himself. Recognizing some of their faces, Andrew began to regain some confidence and justification for his decision to defy the UFE. Suddenly, a circular magical symbol lit up a corner of a room and burst into 10-foot flames. In what felt like 2 seconds, the flames died down and vanished and where the symbol was now stood a girl with jet-black hair, dark skin, red eyes, and with the beauty of a goddess. The woman was not wearing the typical uniform of the other Riders but was instead wearing a black dress that left much to the imagination. "Bri, what in the actual Hell are you wearing?" inquired Jason. The woman, whose name is Briana, looked at Jason with a look of shock and countered, "You said you wanted to induct a new Rider, I figured I should dress up. But I can see that I didn't get the memo that this is business casual". Jason looked over Briana's shoulder, frowned, and asked, "Where's Cassandra?" A smile grew on the woman's face, revealing sharp fangs, "Don't worry your ex will be here soon". The two Riders turned to face a man of Egyptian who appeared to be whimpering and had his mouth wide open. On the man's fleece jacket was the symbol of Kamen Rider Necrom. "The carpet, the brand-new carpet that I bought for this place. It's…it's ruined". Jason lowered his head in annoyance, "Aiman, I told you that this was a temporary housing situation, you should not be wasting money on cosmetics for this safehouse". Aiman, with tears in his eyes, responded, "It's fine, it was just one corner, I'll just cover it up with something. I just want this place to look somewhat hospitable, you know?" A light smile grew on Jason's face as he understood the reasoning, plus it was a nice carpet. Briana looked over toward Andrew and walked over to him, her hand out to shake his. "Andrew, right? You're Kamen Rider Build?". Andrew nodded his head. "I thought I recognized you", Briana chuckled, "Tell me how's the council, is it still standing?" Andrew answered, "It's complicated. Due to the number of Riders defecting, the seats on the council are not being filled as quickly as Dan would like". Briana turned to face Jason once more, "Look Jason, some good news for once". Jason raised his eyebrows, seeing her point and stated, "Yeah, well, when I went out to fight some worms earlier, I ran into IXA, Knight, Baron, and Brave who were told to kill me on sight by Dan. So, I wonder if the other Riders here are in danger of being killed on sight". Briana shook her head, "I sincerely doubt it, Dan hates you the most, after all you're the one who had an affair with his fiancée and killed her". Jason looked into her blood red eyes with a fierce ferocity, "That's not…It's…". Before Jason could finish his sentence, Briana lifted two fingers from each hand into the air, performing air quotes and said, "complicated". Briana was not phased by Jason's stare but rather continued looking into his eyes hoping to find something of use. A smirk appeared on her face, "I don't know what my sister taught you because my telepathic abilities cannot penetrate that mind of yours". Suddenly, another burst of flames occurred in another corner of the room and another shriek was uttered by Aiman. When the flames died down, a beautiful woman with red eyes, raven hair, and dark, tanned skin appeared. The woman was wearing the typical garb of a Kamen Rider with her fleece having the logo of Kamen Rider Kiva-la. Jason, putting on a smile, stepped forward, "Cass, um, I'm glad to see you came. You look nice". Cassandra glared at Jason and responded, "You look gaunt". Jason's smile faded, but he had no time to ponder his emotions, "Alright everyone, gather around, it is time".

The induction began by Jason, Andrew, Brianna, Christian, Art, and Hunter transforming into their respective armors, standing side-by-side, and having their hands interlocked with one another, creating a long-connected line. Three other Riders stood forward and transformed. One was Kamen Rider Duke, one was Kamen Rider Mars, and the last was Kamen Rider Idunn. The three Riders joined the council members in the line. Aisha then stood forward; she was wearing what appeared to be a white bed sheet. Typically, the neophyte would wear a white dress or suit of some kind as a sign of their purity to good; but since they were in hiding with minimal resources, a bed sheet had to do. Aisha was a beautiful young woman in her early twenties of Indian descent. Her black hair had curls at the bottom, her ears covered with piercings, and wide brown eyes. Slowly, the line of transformed Kamen Riders began to contort its shape into a circle, surrounding Aisha. As the circle closed, the Riders moved closer to the neophyte with Kabuto stopping directly across from her. Kabuto unlinked himself from the circle, took a step towards Aisha, and pulled out the Genesis Driver and Peach Energy Lockseed. The beetle-based Rider attached the driver to Aisha's waste and pressed the switch on the side of the lockseed, " _ **PEACH ENERGY**_ ". Kabuto placed the lockseed onto the driver, pushed down on the locking mechanism of the object, " _ **LOCK ON**_ ", and slid the Seaboll Compressor. Rejoining the circle, Kabuto and the other Riders raised their hands into the air and a burst of multi-colored energy filled the room. Aisha felt what can only be described as a mixture of pain and pleasure flowing through her body as her pink aura lifted itself out of her body and nicked the other Riders' auras. Once her aura flowed back into her body, her transformation in Kamen Rider Marika concluded.

 _ **SODA! PEACH ENERGY ARMS!**_

As the other Riders back away, they saw the new Kamen Rider standing in front of them. Kamen Rider Marika appeared to look like a pink-variant of an Arabian soldier's armor with big gold eyes in the shape of a butterfly with red trimming. All the Riders than bowed to her and proceeded to congratulate her on achieving the honor.

 **UFE HQ, MIDNIGHT**

Kamen Riders Ryuki and Knight were walking at a brisk pace through the halls of the UFE complex. "Well that took longer than expected", quipped Knight. Ryuki turned his head slightly, "Yeah, but now at least its over". Knight replied, "agreed". Eventually, the duo reached an elevator and pressed the button that would take them to the top floor of the main building on the compound. The Riders took a few moments to gather their breaths. "Steven", Ryuki said, "have you by chance been getting this feeling that something is not right?" Knight nodded, "Yeah, I have". Ryuki continued his thought, "Something's wrong in the Mirror World. The level of activity we had to face from the monsters behind the mirrors has decreased substantially in the last 3 weeks, which is far from normal". Turning to face Ryuki, Knight offered, "Well, maybe this is a good thing. If there are no mirror monsters, then we can retire". Shaking his head, Ryuki responded, "Not exactly, if we break our contracts with our Advent Beasts then they will attack people on Earth. I think we need to look into what is causing the monsters to die out, and I think I might know what's causing it". Knight took a step back, "Dan it has been over 10 years, I highly doubt _that's_ the case". Ryuki nodded and turned to face the window of the elevator, "Nevertheless, I want you to look into this". Knight lowered his head but quickly rose it once Ryuki turned to face him, "Alright, I will". Ryuki walked over and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, "You're the only person I have ever really trusted, next to Annie of course". A chuckle escaped the mouths of both Riders.

The elevator's ring brought the two Kamen Riders to attention as the doors opened. Once the doors opened, the two Riders stepped out of the elevator and walked through a corridor that was covered in strong glass, allowing the Riders to view the outside world from atop the building. As the duo turned a corner, they were greeted by warriors clad in snow white armor with roman-like gauntlets, boots, and a ridge on the top of their helmets. These warriors, known as the Papillon Guards, were handpicked by Ryuki to be his personal guards and are typically stationed outside conference rooms and private offices. Ryuki went toward one of the guards and inquired, "Are they in there?" The white-clad man nodded in affirmation. "Wait", spoke Knight. Ryuki responded "What is it Steven?" Kamen Rider Knight extended his right index finger towards Ryuki's left hand. For a while now it had been shaking, not violently but just enough where it was noticeable. Quickly, Ryuki grabbed his left wrist with his right hand and held it for 10 seconds. The shaking eventually subsided. "Go in", Ryuki ordered to Knight, with disdain now present in his voice. Without hesitation, Knight entered the conference room and was surprised to find what appeared to be a small militia of humanoid robots with rectangular knee pads and elbow pads, a head with an upside down triangle in the middle and orange led lights originating from wedges in the head's bottom corners. Silver, web-like detailing was present on the robots' legs, arms, and sternum. A well-dressed man then rose from a chair in the middle of the long conference table and began making his way over to the Kamen Rider. Next to where the man had been sitting sat another man, no older than 22 years of age and with a frail figure, short black hair, and the beginning of a beard on the tip of his chin, typing away on a computer. " _That man_ ," Knight thought, " _where have I seen him before_?" Knight's thoughts were interrupted as the man broke the Rider's concentration and said, "Good evening, you must Kamen Rider Knight. I must say I appreciate your service to the world". "Well, you are very welcome, it is our job as Kamen Riders to ensure that peace and freedom exist throughout the planet", responded Knight. Kamen Rider Ryuki entered the room and went for the man's hand, "Hello, you must be Dr. Mendez. I must say your work is really quite something". Dr. Mendez smiled, "Yes, it is, and I think you will find that what I have to show you is exactly what you will need for your little renegade problem". Ryuki and Knight walked over and sat in chairs across from the man on the keyboard. Although Kamen Rider Knight's stare at the man was hidden behind the mask, Dr. Mendez was able to tell that the young man peaked his curiosity. "This is my top engineer Evan", Dr. Mendez stated, "you may remember him as one of the candidates for the Kamen Rider Build system". "Ah", replied both Riders in agreement. Evan grimaced, a sign that he was a little embarrassed to be called out on his failure to become a Kamen Rider. Dr. Mendez walked toward Evan and placed his hand on his shoulder, "What we are presenting to you today are two products that will be of much benefit to the government: the first are the guardians you see in front of you and the second are our "pseudo-Rider" systems. Ryuki let out a sigh of disappointment which surprised Dr. Mendez but not Evan. "Why the sigh", asked Mendez. Evan spoke up, "It's because the Pseudo-Kamen Riders that exist here already, like Alternative Zero, are not given the respect of being real Kamen Riders, despite being exemplary fighters". Knight nodded, affirming Evan's statement. A smile crept up on the side of Dr. Mendez's mouth, "Tell me Kamen Rider Ryuki, do you consider your Kurokage troopers and Riottroopers Kamen Riders?" Ryuki chuckled in response, "When I'm in a good mood". Snapping his fingers and pointing his right index finger at Ryuki, Mendez retorted, "So then these "pseudo-riders" deserve a chance to showcase that they deserve the title of Kamen Rider, do they not?" Kamen Rider Ryuki raised his left hand, "One, never point at me like that again. And two, let's go through this meeting one topic at a time. Let's begin with your guardians". Dr. Mendez's smile began to fade, "Okay, the guardians, as you can tell, are robots and have been tested to handle threats ranging from a basic human criminal to a fully molted worm". During the rest of Dr. Mendez's explanation, Kamen Rider Knight's focus became drawn to Ryuki's hand. Ryuki was moving his fingers in a specific rhythmic pattern that Knight understood as a secret code the two had developed during one of their missions long ago. In a fit of Olympic-level speed, Knight stood up, grasped his Dark Visor and threw it blade-first at the head of one of the guardians. The blade of the Dark Visor cut through the head of the guardian like a knife to butter and the guardian toppled over onto the two other guardians standing behind it. Kamen Rider Ryuki began to clap sarcastically as Knight went to retrieve his weapon. "Wow, your guardians are really impressive Dr. Mendez. Tell me did you train them yourself?" Before a rebuttal could be uttered by Dr. Mendez, Evan spoke up, "The guardians are not for taking down Kamen Riders, they are for standard police work. This way you don't have to waste sending out Riottroopers or Kurokage troopers to handle minor disputes". Ryuki's head snapped forward to face Evan's, "I'm sorry Evan, but are you telling me how to do my job?", he asked angrily. A smile arrived on Evan's face, "Before you get all defensive, let me show you what will catch your attention". Evan rose from his and moved to a guardian wearing a business suit and holding a briefcase. Grabbing the briefcase, Evan opened it to reveal a black gun-like object with yellow hazard type and complex circuitry. From his pocket, Evan brandished a fullbottle with a cobra design on it and placed it in the slot of the weapon. " _ **COBRA!**_ " the object yelled as Evan lowered the gun to his feet and pulled the trigger, " _ **MIST MATCH!**_ ". Engulfed in black and red smoke, armor began to materialize around Evan and the gun uttered, " _ **CO-COBRA... COBRA... FIRE!**_ ". Once the smoke cleared, where Evan once stood was a figure with red and green armor, the red being the body of the suit and the green being the visor of the helmet and the center of Evan's chest. "May I present to you gentlemen", Dr. Mendez began, "Blood Stalk and the Transteam Gun". Evan chimed in, "I prefer Kamen Rider Blood Stalk". Both Kamen Riders Knight and Ryuki scoffed at Evan's remark. "You look nothing like a Kamen Rider, Evan", Knight began, "And based upon your performance in your candidacy test to become Build, I highly doubt your qualified to even be wearing that armor". Blood Stalk clenched his fist, fantasizing about beating the Riders in front of him to a pulp. Dr. Mendez chimed, "We also have another suit that can be accessed with the Transteam Gun as well as a user in mind for it". Ryuki raised his right hand, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I want to make one thing crystal clear. Just because you have developed a system that can give a user armor does not make said user a Kamen Rider. Being a Kamen Rider is a title one must hold with pride and honor, to protect the freedoms of all people across the planet and to defend the Earth from those who wish to do it harm. Evan, if you want to be a Kamen Rider so bad then you must earn it. Bring me Kabuto, then you will have your title of Kamen Rider". Blood Stalk nodded and replied, "Thank you, Kamen Rider Ryuki". Ryuki rose from his seat and walked past Dr. Mendez and to the door of the room. Before leaving, Ryuki turned to face Dr. Mendez and stated, "I want the list of possible users of your second armor that can be accessed with the Transteam Gun. What do you call the armor?" Dr. Mendez replied, "We call it Night Rogue".


End file.
